Central America’s most active volcano erupts: 6-kilometer-high ash cloud and more than a thousand ejecta | Abroad

“An increase in the activity of the Fuego volcano has been confirmed,” the Coordination for Disaster Relief (Conred) said. The agency reports that “pyroclastic flows,” a mixture of gas, steam and debris at extremely high temperatures, have showered ash on seven villages near the volcano. The ash column above Fuego reached a height of more than 6,000 meters above sea level.

1,045 people have been evacuated from five communities at the base of the volcano and taken to a sports arena, according to Oscar Cosio, a civil protection official. 13 emergency shelters with a capacity of around 7,600 people have been opened in four nearby towns.

The National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Incivumeh) is warning of mudslides and debris flows from the forecasted rains. The eruption began early Thursday morning, Conrad said, warning of the dangers of the worsening situation.

Fuego Volcano, at an altitude of 3,763 meters, is 35 km from the Guatemalan capital. Its latest outbreak in December 2022 forced the closure of Guatemala’s international airport and a busy road between the tourist city of Antigua and the south of the country.

On June 3, 2018, a fire cloud from the volcano buried the village of San Miguel Los Lodes, killing 215 people and leaving an equal number missing.

Two other volcanoes are active in Guatemala: Santiago (in the west of the country) and Pacaya (in the south).