Puyehue pauses, ash cloud persists
Argentine Patagonian resort town of Bariloche remains at red alert
The volcanic tremors have dropped significantly, Chile’s National Emergency Office of was reported as saying. The tremors had averaged 240 per hour during the first 12 hours, but dropped to about 17 an hour on Sunday.
Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. Utility workers use bulldozers to remove large amounts of volcanic ash from Puyehue eruption carried across the Andes easterly winds and dumped on their city. Photo: Alfredo Leiva/Associated Press. Image may be subject to copyright.
Nearby residents are said to be extremely worried about the welfare of their cattle and other farm animals.
“Ash was dumped like a snowstorm. The city is covered in gray ash,” a Bariloche official, told Chile’s national TV.
“We’re trying to stop car traffic and ask that people stay at home and close their doors and windows to prevent the volcanic ash from coming in.”
Bariloche airport remains closed, and Aerolineas Argentinas flights to the area are cancelled.
Meanwhile, officials in the small Argentine Andean town of La Angostura announced that the town of 16,000 people was on “red alert,” urging the residents to stay at home and conserve water, a report said.
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