Mass Evacuation Ordered after UBINAS Eruption

VOLCANIC HAZARD
STATE OF EMERGENCY
MASS EVACUATIONS
.

Ubinas Volcano spews 3.2km-high plumes of toxic ash

Some 4,000 residents and more than 40,000 animals are being evacuated to a “safety zone” about  20km from Peru’s most active volcano.

Villagers are concerned for the health of their livestock, a major source of income. “In the district of Ubinas alone, there are an estimated 40,000 llamas and alpacas.” A significant percentage of these animals could be seriously affected by the silica ash, which  contaminates their grazing areas after each significant eruption, local sources have said.

The silica ash from the  eruption damages crops, polluting water sources, and threatening villagers and their livestock.

“The Ollanta Humala’s administration declared a state of emergency in nearby provinces, which will provide financial assistance for those affected by eruption of the Ubinas volcano, in southern Peru’s Arequipa region,” reported Andina news agency.

A major eruption in 2006 forced mass evacuations and killed livestock that consumed ash-contaminated fodder, said the report.

Ubinas Volcano erupted multiple times in September 2013 after three years of dormancy. Image credit: ANDINA

The massive 5,670-meter volcano is located about 70 kilometers from the city of Arequipa (metro pop: ~ 1,260,000), and 1,250km south of the capital Lima, close to the country’s Pacific coast, about  230 km east of the Peru-Chile trench and about 150 km above the Benioff-Wadati plane, where the Nazca plate is subducting under the continental part of the South American Plate.

Related Links

• Peru Declares State of Emergency as Ubinas Erupts Again September 13, 2013
• Ubinas Volcano Erupts 6 Times in 60 Hour September 5, 2013