One of Central America’s most active volcanoes has erupted again, causing evacuations to be ordered near a popular tourist city in Guatemala.
The latest eruption of Volcán de Fuego (English: Volcano of Fire) started around 9 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Coordination for Disaster Reduction of Guatemala (CONRED).
“A considerable increase in the effusive activity of Volcán de Fuego is declared…a lava fountain 300 meters high above the crater of the volcanic complex [was observed],” CONRED said in a statement issued Monday.
Preliminary measurements when the eruption began indicated ash was being spread in a northwest, west and southwest direction at a maximum height of 7,000 meters (nearly 23,000 feet) and a maximum distance of 50 kilometers (just over 31 miles), officials said. Some 30,000 people are at risk, according to CONRED secretary Claudinne Ugalde, per the Associated Press.
The 12,346-foot stratovolcano – which last erupted in June 2023 – overlooks the popular tourist city of Antigua Guatemala and is 33 miles from the capital of Guatemala City. While evacuations haven’t been ordered for either location, other communities are being forced to leave, and CONRED has opened shelters for affected residents.
Officials said Monday that volcanic activity was expected to increase, although the flow of volcanic material was described as “weak and moderate.”
That is good news for those in the vicinity of the volcano, as past eruptions have killed scores of people, including one in 2018 that left 194 dead and another 234 missing.
A time lapse of the eruption can be viewed in the video player below:
