Guatemalans urged to leave after volcano erupts
GUATEMALA CITY: Disaster coordination authorities have asked 10 communities in Guatemala to evacuate to safer areas following an increased eruption of the Volcan de Fuego, or Volcano of Fire.
The 10 communities have at least 2,000 residents, but each community will decide separately if they will evacuate or not.
Antigua al Rescate, an organisation that helped communities after a devastating eruption in June, and a newspaper in the capital reported that at least three communities had decided to evacuate.
Images of the volcano after midnight showed glowing lava at the summit.
The Volcano of Fire is located among the departments of Escuintla, Chimaltenango and Sacatepequez in the south central part of the country. David de Leon, a spokesman for the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, said at least eight of the communities should be leaving.
De Leon said monitoring of the volcano’s activity during the day on Sunday showed that the intensity of the eruption was being maintained, so the evacuation was called for to protect people.
The 3,763m Volcano of Fire is one of the most active in Central America.
The eruption in June killed 194 people and left at least 234 missing, although organisations supporting the communities have insisted that there are actually thousands of missing persons.
The Volcano of Fire spewed more ash and lava last month, prompting warnings for the nearby communities.