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Guatemala declares maximum alert, evacuates hundreds due to Volcán de Fuego eruption
🇦🇷 Argentina /Disasters & Emergencies

Guatemala declares maximum alert, evacuates hundreds due to Volcán de Fuego eruption

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Guatemala declared a maximum-level red alert due to the eruption of the Volcán de Fuego, located 35 km from the capital.
  • Approximately 500 residents from nearby villages have been evacuated to safer locations, with more families moving to shelters.
  • Residents recall the deadly 2018 eruption and fear a repeat of the tragedy, while authorities urge voluntary evacuations for those at risk.

Guatemalan authorities have declared a red alert, the highest level of danger, for areas affected by the eruption of the Volcán de Fuego, which is situated 35 kilometers from the capital. The volcano, Central America's most active, entered an eruptive phase Monday morning and intensified overnight, spewing lava and large columns of gas and ash. The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred) declared a state of emergency for the departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango, and Escuintla, home to 1.6 million people, although ashfall currently affects only five municipalities.

We are used to the volcano always being active, but now it was too much.

— Sonia VásquezA 50-year-old resident of El Porvenir describing the intensity of the current eruption.

At least 500 residents from the villages of El Porvenir and Las Lajitas, located on the volcano's slopes, have been evacuated by bus to a community hall in San Juan Alotenango, an area considered less risky. Dozens of other families have been relocated to shelters in the southern municipality of Escuintla, and the total number of evacuees is still being determined.

We ran out scared when we saw the lava descending.

— Alejandro GarcíaA resident of El Porvenir recounting the experience of fleeing the eruption.

Residents expressed their fear, with Sonia Vásquez, 50, from El Porvenir, stating, "We are used to the volcano always being active, but now it was too much." Alejandro García, another resident, recounted fleeing in fear as lava descended. Many recall the devastating eruption on June 3, 2018, which killed 215 people and left a similar number missing, and they fear a repeat of such a tragedy.

If there were possibilities to change houses, it would be better, because one lives with the fear that since the volcano doesn't warn, it could start erupting at any moment.

— Lidia OrtizA displaced resident expressing the anxiety of living near the active volcano.

Temporary beds have been set up in the San Juan Alotenango hall for those displaced, many of whom left their homes with minimal belongings. Lidia Ortiz, 40, expressed the anxiety of living near an unpredictable volcano, saying, "If there were possibilities to change houses, it would be better, because one lives with the fear that since the volcano doesn't warn, it could start erupting at any moment." The main highway around the massif, connecting the south coast to the colonial city of Antigua, was temporarily closed but has since reopened. The capital's international airport remains operational.

I ask the population, especially the communities around the volcano, to...

— Claudinne OgaldesThe executive secretary of Conred urging voluntary evacuations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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