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Fuego eruption triggers evacuations
Guatemalan authorities ordered evacuations after the Fuego volcano erupted on Monday morning, sending lava down its slopes and ash into the sky as the alert level was raised from orange to red for the departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango and Escuintla.
“Guatemalan authorities raised the alert level today from orange to red”
The eruption was described as intensifying by nightfall, with rivers of lava streaming down the 3,763-metre volcano located less than 100 kilometres from Guatemala City, and ash rising some six kilometres into the red sky.
Firefighters transported at least 350 residents of the El Porvenir and Las Lajitas villages to the eastward San Juan Alotenango municipality, where evacuees stayed in a community hall with makeshift beds set up.
In a separate update, the Guatemalan disaster management agency CONRED said 659 people were evacuated from eight villages in the danger area and were being housed in nearby shelters, while Claudinne Ogaldes said about 10 more communities were expected to be evacuated throughout the day.
Voices urge self-evacuation
At the shelter, local resident Lidia Ortiz, 40, told AFP, "If there were any chance of moving to a different house, it would be better, because you’re always afraid since the volcano doesn’t give any warning," as evacuees waited for conditions to change.
CONRED spokesperson Valeria Urizar urged residents to act quickly, saying in a video posted on social media, "If an evacuation is ordered or conditions pose a risk to your life, follow the principle of self-evacuation."
The BBC reported that around 400 people were evacuated from communities near the volcano and taken to temporary shelters in Alotenango and Escuintla city, with schools closed due to the risk of ash fall and further volcanic activity.
The BBC also said Fuego was located just 16km west of Antigua, a city popular with tourists who travel to the Unesco World Heritage site to admire its colonial-era architecture, and it noted that emergency services urged residents to leave their homes for their safety.
Air traffic, roads, and schools
Guatemalan authorities urged "precautions with air traffic," while the BBC said there had so far been no impact on the capital’s international airport as ash and gas continued to rise from the volcano.
“Guatemalan authorities urged “precautions with air traffic””
Traffic police closed a road encircling the mountain range that connects the south coast with the colonial city of Antigua, and the education ministry ordered the suspension of face-to-face classes in communities within two municipalities near the volcano.
The Institute of Volcanology warned of hot volcanic debris flows down Fuego’s slopes, with communities on the western and southern flanks at the greatest risk, and it said Fuego had been erupting for 23 hours straight by Tuesday morning although the intensity was easing slightly.
In a longer historical frame, the Guardian recalled that in 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when rivers of lava poured down Fuego’s slopes and destroyed a village, underscoring the stakes for communities in the danger area.
