Thousands evacuated as Calbuco volcano explodes
Located in southern Chile, about 1,000km south of the capital, Santiago, the extremely explosive andesite volcano finally erupted, sending a massive column of ash, smoke and lava up to 20km into the atmosphere.
Chile’s ONEMI emergency office declared a red alert and evacuated more than 4,000 people within a 20km (12 mile) radius of the 2,015-meter high volcano.
Residents of the nearby town of Ensenada and two other communities have been ordered to abandon their homes.
Calbuco’s last major eruption occurred in 1961.
Villarrica volcano, also in southern Chile, erupted in March.
ONEMI has posted the following update (Spanish) on its website:
Related Links
- FIRE-EARTH ALERT: HEIGHTENED SEISMICITY and ENHANCED VOLCANISM in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 31, 2015
- FIRE-EARTH Forecast: Heightened seismicity in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 30, 2015
Latest Significant Seismic Activity in the PRF:
Magnitude: 6.3Mw
Location: 12.025°S, 166.424°E depth=72.0 km (44.7 mi)
Time: 2015-04-22 22:57:15 (UTC)
Distances:
- 158km SSE of Lata, Solomon
- 396km (246mi) NNW of Luganville, Vanuatu
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