Mexico's Colima volcano erupts, forcing nearby communities to evacuate

Updated

Mexico's Colima volcano has erupted, spewing a large plume of ash and thick black smoke into the sky and forcing the evacuation of two nearby villages.

Chief of National Emergency Services, Luis Felipe Puente, said some 350 villagers living in the shadow of the volcano in the towns of La Yerbabuena and La Becerrera had been evacuated to a nearby shelter.

The volcano is located in western Mexico between the states of Colima and Jalisco, about 500 kilometres from Mexico City.

It is one of the most active volcanoes in the country and Central America.

Colima, also known as fuego — or fire — has had more than 30 periods of eruption since 1585, including several significant eruptions in the late 1990s.

Scientific monitoring of the volcano began 20 years ago.

Reuters

Topics: volcanic-eruption, mexico

First posted</s>Mexico's Colima volcano erupted on Friday, spewing a large plume of ash and thick black smoke into the sky and provoking the evacuation of two nearby villages.

The volcano is located in western Mexico between the states of Colima and Jalisco and is one of the country's most active.

Luis Felipe Puente, head of national emergency services, told Reuters that some 350 villagers living in the shadow of the volcano in the towns of La Yerbabuena and La Becerrera have been evacuated to a nearby shelter.</s>Residents in the state of Colima, Mexico have been forced to evacuate their homes as one of the most active volcanoes in Central America started to violently erupt on Friday spewing a large plume of ash and thick black smoke into the sky.



The Colima volcano known as the volcano of fire has been erupting slowly since early September.

More than 300 people were ordered on Friday to evacuate from two villages in the foothills of Volcan de Fuego, the 3,839-meter mountain which towers over the states of Jalisco and Colima.

A timelapse taken from a webcam observing the peak shows its most recent fiery outburst, raining molten rock and ash on the surrounding area.

Late Friday, Colima State Governor Jose Ignacio Peralta ordered people to evacuate from the nearby villages of La Becerrera and La Yerbabuena because of lava and noxious gases being emitted by the volcano.

Members of the National Civil Protection, Mexico’s Army and the State Civil Protection Unit have been deployed to transport residents to emergency hostels away from the danger, according to the local government website.

People are also being warned to stay away from rivers and ravines close to the volcano, for fear the lava could take a path of least resistance and rush downhill.</s>MEXICO CITY — Eruptions at the Colima volcano in western Mexico have led authorities to evacuate two small hamlets on the volcano's slopes.

The government of the state of Colima said 230 people had been evacuated from the hamlet of La Becerra and 80 from Yerbabuena. Civil officials said some went to a shelter in the town of Comala.

Authorities in the state of Jalisco evacuated residents of another hamlet, known as Juan Barragan.

Friday's eruption sent lava or glowing rocks down the volcano's flanks and a column of ash and into the air.

Also known as the Volcano of Fire, the 12,533-foot (3,820-meter) volcano is 430 miles (690 ) northwest of Mexico City.
Mexico's Volcán de Colima erupts forcing the evacuation of two nearby villages.