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Maximum alert in Guatemala as Fuego volcano erupts, 1700 evacuated
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Disasters & Emergencies

Maximum alert in Guatemala as Fuego volcano erupts, 1700 evacuated

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Guatemala has declared a maximum alert as the Fuego volcano erupts, forcing the evacuation of at least 1700 residents from nearby areas.
  • The volcano, Central America's most active, began erupting on Monday, with lava flows and ash columns observed.
  • Authorities are concerned about ashfall affecting approximately 29,000 people, urging residents to take precautions.

Guatemala has issued a maximum alert following a powerful eruption of the Fuego volcano, prompting the evacuation of at least 1700 residents from communities near the crater. The Fuego volcano, known as the most active in Central America, entered an eruptive phase on Monday morning, intensifying overnight with lava flows cascading down its slopes and vast plumes of gas and ash rising into the sky.

The volcano is going through one of its most critical explosive phases.

— Edwin RojasDirector of the Volcanological Institute (Insivumeh), describing the intensity of the eruption.

Edwin Rojas, director of the Volcanological Institute (Insivumeh), described the eruption as one of the volcano's most critical explosive phases, characterized by mudflows, incandescent rocks, gases, and ash. The national disaster coordination agency, Conred, began evacuations of nearby hamlets on Monday evening and declared a national "danger" (orange) alert. On Tuesday, this alert level was raised to red for the departments of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango, and Escuintla, which are home to 1.6 million people.

Conred's executive secretary, Claudinne Ogaldes, stated that approximately 29,000 people are directly exposed to ashfall, making evacuation from the affected zone essential. Ogaldes urged residents in surrounding villages to wear masks and cover their water and food supplies. Over 1700 individuals have already been evacuated, with some expressing their fear and accustomedness to the volcano's activity.

We are used to having an always active volcano, but this was really too much.

— Sonia VasquezA 50-year-old resident of El Porvenir, describing her experience during the evacuation.

Despite the heightened alert, authorities reopened a road to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Antigua, a major tourist destination. The international airport in Guatemala City has not been affected, and classes have been suspended in schools in three nearby localities. Residents like Sonia Vasquez, 50, from El Porvenir, described the situation as "really too much," while Alejandro Garcia recalled fleeing in fear as lava descended the slopes.

We ran out, seized by fear when we saw the lava descending the slopes.

— Alejandro GarciaAnother resident describing the moment of evacuation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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