Volcano scares Mexico City

Officials say Popocatepetl is currently not a danger

MEXICO CITY — While a jittery Mexico recuperates from a series of earthquakes, a steady stream of smoke emerging from the Popocatepetl volcano has been another reminder of the nation’s geological vulnerability.

Popocatepetl — “smoking mountain” in the Nahuatl language — has been spewing steam and gases for several days, but authorities say there is no imminent danger.

Early Wednesday, plumes of ash and superheated fragments emanated from the volcano, said Mexico’s disaster agency.

Authorities have said there is no link between the volcanic activity and the recent earthquakes in Mexico. Officials describe the activity as normal and not a cause for alarm.

The magnitude-7.1 quake that struck on Sept. 19, leaving more than 300 dead and thousands homeless, had its epicenter about 100 miles from Popocatepetl, widely known here as “Popo.”

Early Wednesday, Luis Felipe Puente, national coordinator of civil protection, sent a Twitter message noting that Popocatepetl had experienced overnight “explosions,” but adding that the activity had been anticipated in the current “yellow alert” phase. A yellow warning signals that people should be “alert and aware” of what authorities and the news media are saying about the volcano, Mexico’s disaster agency says.

Officials have not declared a “red alert,” which could involve evacuating people living near the volcano. “Popo” is about 50 miles southeast of Mexico City.