Thousands flee as eruptions rock Ecuador and Guatemala
Source: Agencies |
May 30, 2010, Sunday
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Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanos in Central and South America on Friday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over major cities.
Guatemala's Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks on Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country's capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. A television reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close to the volcano, about 25 kilometers south of Guatemala City.
In the village of Calderas, close to the eruption, Brenda Castaneda said she and her family hid under beds and tables as marble-sized rocks thundered down on her home.
"We thought we wouldn't survive. Our houses crumbled and we've lost everything," Castaneda said while waiting for rescue teams to take them to a shelter at a nearby school.
Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, prompting evacuations of hundreds of people from nearby villages.
Ecuador's National Geophysics Institute said hot volcanic material blasted down the slopes and ash plumes soared 10 kilometers above a crater that is already 5,023 meters above sea level.
Winds blew the ash over the country's most populous city, Guayaquil, and led aviation officials to halt flights out of the Pacific port and from Quito to Lima, Peru.
Neither of the eruptions was expected to disrupt airports in neighboring countries like Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano did in Europe.
In Guatemala, the ash billowing from Pacaya has been thick and falls quickly to the ground, unlike the lighter ash that spewed from the volcano in Iceland and swept over much of Europe, said Gustavo Chigna, a volcano expert with Guatemala's institute of seismology and volcanos.
In Guatemala, at least 1,910 people from villages closest to the Pacaya volcano were moved to shelters. Some 800 homes were damaged in the initial eruption late on Thursday. A second eruption at midday on Friday released ash in smaller amounts from the 2,552-meter mountain, according to the country's Geophysical Research and Services Unit.
In Guatemala City, bulldozers scraped blackened streets while residents used shovels to clean cars and roofs.
The blanket of ash was 7.5 centimeters thick in some southern parts of the city. The government urged people not to leave their homes unless there was an urgent need.
Guatemala's Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks on Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country's capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. A television reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close to the volcano, about 25 kilometers south of Guatemala City.
In the village of Calderas, close to the eruption, Brenda Castaneda said she and her family hid under beds and tables as marble-sized rocks thundered down on her home.
"We thought we wouldn't survive. Our houses crumbled and we've lost everything," Castaneda said while waiting for rescue teams to take them to a shelter at a nearby school.
Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, prompting evacuations of hundreds of people from nearby villages.
Ecuador's National Geophysics Institute said hot volcanic material blasted down the slopes and ash plumes soared 10 kilometers above a crater that is already 5,023 meters above sea level.
Winds blew the ash over the country's most populous city, Guayaquil, and led aviation officials to halt flights out of the Pacific port and from Quito to Lima, Peru.
Neither of the eruptions was expected to disrupt airports in neighboring countries like Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano did in Europe.
In Guatemala, the ash billowing from Pacaya has been thick and falls quickly to the ground, unlike the lighter ash that spewed from the volcano in Iceland and swept over much of Europe, said Gustavo Chigna, a volcano expert with Guatemala's institute of seismology and volcanos.
In Guatemala, at least 1,910 people from villages closest to the Pacaya volcano were moved to shelters. Some 800 homes were damaged in the initial eruption late on Thursday. A second eruption at midday on Friday released ash in smaller amounts from the 2,552-meter mountain, according to the country's Geophysical Research and Services Unit.
In Guatemala City, bulldozers scraped blackened streets while residents used shovels to clean cars and roofs.
The blanket of ash was 7.5 centimeters thick in some southern parts of the city. The government urged people not to leave their homes unless there was an urgent need.
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