Millions warned of possible evacuation as Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spews ash and gas
Mexico’s fierce Popocatepetl volcano continued spewing ash and gases on Monday, closing schools, prompting evacuation drills and causing airport delays.
Mexico raised its alert level to “yellow phase three,” one notch below the top “red” level.
A low rumble that sounded like an idling engine could be heard on and off at the edge of the town of Santiago Xalitzintla, which lies about 15 miles east of the famed volcano. Superfine ash drifted down.
This has been happening for days as the volcano nicknamed “El Popo” has amped up its explosive activity and spewed huge plumes of gas, ash and incandescent rock skyward.
The disruption was enough to prompt Mexican authorities to raise warning levels, close schools in dozens of municipalities in three states and hold evacuation drills at the local, state and federal level.
The country’s Defense Department said 6,500 troops were poised to be activated, and shelters were being set up.
“There is no risk to the population at this time,” national Civil Defense Coordinator Laura Velázquez said Sunday. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We are prepared for any scenario.”
Popo and its sibling, nearby Iztaccíhuatl, are known for being antsy, given their membership in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where most of the world’s volcanic and seismic activity is concentrated. Mexico also issued a yellow level-three alert for Popocatepetl in 2019 after similar disruptions.
Of 565 explosions since September, just three have been large, Velázquez said, and the volcano has been more active in the past.
With News Wire Services
