Chile – Volcano Calbuco erupted the first time in the last 50 years presenting a spectacular display of ash and smoke emission in southern Chile. The eruption belched thick fog of smoke and ash up to 20 kilometers high into the sky. A red alert was declared by the Onemi emergency office of Chile following the sudden volcanic eruption.
The volcano erupted around 2100 GMT. It is located about 625 miles from the south of Santiago, the capital of Chile. The place of eruption is pretty close to the famous tourist destination, Puerto Montt, and Puerto Varas. Chile’s National Geology and Mining authorities immediately ordered the evacuation and by dawn, around 1500 people were evacuated to a nearby Ensenada town. Two smaller communities were also evacuated and relocated to Ensenada.
More than 4000 people were evacuated from Wednesday night, and the complete area within a 20-kilometer radius from the Calbuco volcano was cleared off. The evacuated people have been relocated in classes in the surrounding towns. Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile, is to visit the affected area on Thursday. So far, no reports of deaths or missing have been registered.
Flights Canceled, Schools Closed
The eruption forced cancelation of three flights to the tourist spot, Puerto Montt and schools near the Calbuco volcano were closed on orders from the Education Ministry. In a way, this volcanic eruption has brought the life around the area to stand still.
The Calbuco volcano is 6500 feet in height. It had last erupted in 1972. and is known to be one of the top most dangerous active volcanoes in Chile. At present, Chile has around 90 such active volcanoes out of which 3 are highly dangerous.
According to Ensenada resident, Trevor Moffat, the eruption sounded almost similar to the rattling and shaking noise made by a tractor-trailer. He said that everyone around the neighborhood just starting running outside, and many young people even started crying. It reminded of the Armageddon reaction he said.
