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Calbuco volcano erupts in Chile
Topic Started: 23 Apr 2015, 11:21 PM (101 Views)
skibboy
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Evacuation as Calbuco volcano erupts in Chile

7 hours ago

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile has erupted twice in the space of a few hours - having lain dormant for decades.

Footage from the area shows a huge column of lava and ash being sent several kilometres into the air.

The authorities have declared a red alert and evacuated more than 4,000 people within a 20km (12 mile) radius.

The Calbuco volcano is one of the most active in Chile, but its eruption took officials in the area by surprise.

Alejandro Verges, an emergency director for the region, said Calbuco had not been under any special form of observation.

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Calbuco is one of the most active volcanoes in Chile

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Officials have evacuated residents within a 20km radius of the volcano

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Calbuco had lain dormant for decades

'Very frightened'

The inhabitants of the nearby town of Ensenada - along with residents from two other smaller communities - have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

Schools in the area have been shut and some flights cancelled.

The nearby city of Puerto Montt - a gateway to the popular Patagonia region - has already been blanketed in a cloud of ash.

TV footage showed traffic jams in the city and long queues at petrol stations. The nearby town of Puerto Varas was also under a state of alert.

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The ash can be seen several miles from the volcano

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Nearby residents are said to be "very, very frightened"

Mayor Gervoy Paredes said residents were "very, very frightened".

"I had never seen this before. It scares you in the beginning. You start to wonder what is going to happen to you," said one unnamed woman.

"Everyone starts to think about gathering water and I don't know what. We got together with the neighbours to see what we would do and wait for news over the radio because we knew that they were evacuating Ensenada and other places near the volcano."

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Chile has more than 500 potentially active volcanoes

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"I had never seen this before," said one woman

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Nearby towns have been covered in ash

Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo called on people affected to "remain calm and stay informed".

Neighbouring Argentina has also put emergency measures in place for the city of Bariloche - about 100km from Calbuco - where ash clouds are expected.

Residents there have been warned to stay indoors.

Chile has the second largest chain of volcanoes in the world after Indonesia, with about 500 that are potentially active.

It is southern Chile's second volcanic eruption in as many months.

In March, the Villarrica volcano erupted in the early hours of the morning, spewing ash and lava.

The authorities say this latest eruption is more serious.

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skibboy
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Chile volcano Calbuco causes flight problems

5 hours ago

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The more dense the volcanic ash, the more risk it poses for aircraft passing nearby

International flights are being delayed or cancelled because of concerns over the ash cloud created by the Calbuco volcano in Chile.

The eruption on Thursday created a cloud of ash that went up 20km (12.4 miles) into the air.

Volcanic ash can be extremely dangerous to aircraft as the fine particles can damage engines.

Many international flights have been affected in the last few hours, with one forced to turn back to Australia.

Qantas flight QF27 was five hours into its journey to Santiago when it had to turn back to Sydney late on Friday.

A Qantas spokeswoman in Sydney said it returned because of concerns over the ash cloud.

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Two flights from the United States to Buenos Aires, one with Delta Air Lines and one with American Airlines, had to return to their departure airports.

One Air France flight from Paris to Santiago had to land in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and another destined for Buenos Aires landed in Rio de Janeiro.

All the passengers are likely to have to remain in Brazil until at least Saturday, a spokesman for Air France said.

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This satellite image of the Calbuco volcano, taken on 23 April, shows the spread of the ash cloud

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Ash has covered vast areas around the Calbuco volcano

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The ash cloud has led to delays or cancellations to flights from Europe, Australia and the United States

The Air France spokesman said: "We don't want to take any risks as safety is our main priority. At this time, we'd advise anyone travelling with us to South America to keep on monitoring the situation. We will decide what happens to any other flights."

Buenos Aires is about 2,000km (1,243 miles) from the volcano, but Air France said their own control centre in Paris had warned of a potential risk to flights in the area.
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A spokesman for Argentina's National Civil Aeronautic Administration said: "They were cancelled as a preventive measure, for fear that after landing they might not be able to take off later.

"We do not discount the possibility that other airlines might take the same decision."

In March, the Villarrica volcano, 200km (124 miles) south of Calbuco, erupted in the early hours of the morning, spewing ash and lava into the sky.

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The Calbuco volcano continued to emit ash on Friday, two days after erupting

While some flights in Chile and Argentina were cancelled after that eruption, there was very little effect on international flights.

Flight cancellations depend on the density of the ash emitted by a volcano.

Dense ash can clog a jet's fuel and cooling system and lead to the failure of an engine.

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skibboy
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25 April 2015

Chile volcano spews ash and fire

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© AFP/File / by Miguel Sanchez | A policeman walks on volcanic ash from the Calbuco volcano in La Ensenada, Chile, on April 23, 2015

PUERTO VARAS (CHILE) (AFP) - Chile's Calbuco volcano kept villagers on edge Saturday as it spewed fire and ash after two powerful eruptions blanketed the region in suffocating volcanic debris.

A sleeping giant for more than 50 years, the volcano came to life in spectacular bursts of ash and lava Wednesday and Thursday that forced thousands to flee their homes and farms, while disrupting air travel as far away as Buenos Aires.

"The volcano remains unstable, and eruptions, principally ash, will continue for now," the National Geology and Mining Service said in its latest report.

Chilean authorities have declared a state of emergency, sent in the army and evacuated a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius around Calbuco, which is located in Los Lagos, a region popular with tourists for its scenic mountain landscapes dotted with volcanoes and lakes with black-sand beaches.

Authorities ordered the preventive evacuation of some 2,000 people from three more towns at risk of flooding from snow and ice melting high in the mountains due to the volcano's heat, bringing the total number of evacuees to around 6,500.

Additionally, about 300 farmers were affected by the eruption and authorities planned to evacuate about 4,000 sheep and cattle.

"I'm afraid and still thinking about leaving, but over the long-term, I would still return to my land," said Carolina Bayern, who took refuge in a school in Puerto Varas with other evacuees.

Raul Rangel, who also was staying at the school, said he was no longer afraid of the volcano.

"I respect it," he added. "My house collapsed, and everything is destroyed, and I feel such great sadness."

- Spreading ash cloud -

The ash cloud, meanwhile continued to drift eastward over Patagonia and Argentina, reaching Buenos Aires 2,000 kilometers away, where some airlines cancelled flights to and from the United States and Europe.

In Santiago, domestic flights operated normally but some international flights were cancelled.

Three flights were scrapped at Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport, and authorities urged people to use face masks to avoid inhaling ash particles.

- Land blanketed in gray -

Southern Chile's verdant landscape, meanwhile, has turned turned gray as ash has settled over vast expanses of farm land, especially in the immediate disaster zone around the volcano.

"There are fields that will be unusable for a long time," Agriculture Minister Carlos Furche told Radio Cooperativa.

The government said it is weighing whether to provide emergency payments to the hardest hit farmers.

On the other side of the security perimeter, the evacuation area was turned into a scattering of ghost towns blanketed with ash up to one meter (three feet) thick, an AFP photographer said.

In La Ensenada, a town of 1,500 people that was the first to be evacuated, workers used heavy trucks to plow the roads clear as a handful of residents ignored the evacuation order to shovel the ash and debris off their rooftops.

Experts have cautioned that a third eruption could still follow.

The 2,000-meter volcano last erupted in 1961 and showed light activity in 1972, according to official data.

It is the second volcano to erupt in Chile since March 3, when the Villarrica volcano emitted a brief but fiery burst of ash and lava.

Chile has about 90 active volcanoes.

The long, thin country has been hit by a series of natural disasters in recent months, from flooding in its usually arid north, home to the world's driest desert, to wildfires in its drought-hit southern forests.

by Miguel Sanchez

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skibboy
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26 April 2015

Volcano ash causing misery for Chile, Argentina

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© AFP / by Miguel Sanchez | People clean their houses and streets, covered in ash from the Calbuco volcano, in La Ensenada, southern Chile, on April 25, 2015

PUERTO VARAS (CHILE) (AFP) - Ash from Chile's Calbuco volcano visited more misery on air passengers across South America on Sunday, as towns and cities struggled to clean up from last week's two powerful eruptions.

A sleeping giant for more than 50 years, Calbuco sprang to life in spectacular bursts of ash and lava Wednesday and Thursday, forcing 6,500 people living nearby to evacuate and blanketed southern Chile in suffocating volcanic debris.

Ash from the volcano has wrought havoc with air travel in the Southern Cone region of South America, causing delays and cancellations for several international flights to and from Argentina, Chile and even Uruguay.

Flights were still suspended completely in the Argentinian resort city of Bariloche due to the ash.

A column of ash was still traveling northeastward Sunday, but it was smaller than in previous days.

At the foot of the volcano giant, in the small resort town of Ensenada, its 1,500 inhabitants begin to see the light after its people remained under ashes, thanks to military crews to help in cleaning up the area.

"Now, we just have to think about the future. We hope that in two months, Ensenada will be back to normal. But it will depend on whether the volcano leaves us alone," restaurant worker Pedro Gonzalez told AFP.

Armed forces are guarding the affected area, which includes the cities of Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, both under maximum red health alert in the Los Lagos region, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) south of Santiago.

On Saturday, the government confirmed it would be providing financial aid to rebuild the affected areas, and would seek to evacuate some 4,000 sheep and 350 cattle and small animals trapped in ash-covered Ensenada.

Farmers are also due to receive help to cover the huge losses triggered by the volcanic material, in a region that relies heavily on its agriculture and tourism industries for income.

A state of emergency has been in place since Wednesday and authorities evacuated a 20-kilometer radius around Calbuco.

The volcano is located in Los Lagos, a region popular with tourists for its scenic mountain landscapes dotted with volcanoes and lakes with black-sand beaches.

The national emergency office ONEMI maintained that exclusion zone, which has forced the evacuation of nearly 6,000 people amid fears of another eruption.

- A sea of ashes -

Calbuco, which has already spewed 210 million cubic meters (7,420 cubic feet) of ash, is considered to have the fifth largest volcanic ash emissions on record.

In a report, the Chilean Meteorological Office warned that "a remnant of the ash plume is affecting the Lake Region with an estimated ceiling of 4.5 kilometers."

It forecast that the ash would keep moving northeast in Argentinian territory.

The 2,000-meter volcano last erupted in 1961 and showed light activity in 1972, according to official data.

There have been no known fatalities from this week's eruptions.

It is the second volcano to erupt in Chile since March 3, when the Villarrica volcano emitted a brief but fiery burst of ash and lava.

Chile has about 90 active volcanoes.

The long, thin country has been hit by a series of natural disasters in recent months, from flooding in its usually arid north, home to the world's driest desert, to wildfires in its drought-hit southern forests.

by Miguel Sanchez

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skibboy
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Chile's Calbuco volcano covers town of Ensenada in ash

27 April 2015

People living in the vicinity of the Calbuco volcano in Chile are trying to save their homes and their livestock after tonnes of ash rained down following two volcanic eruptions.

The roofs of a number of homes and businesses collapsed under the weight of the ash and residents feared for their sheep and cows.

Soldiers have been deployed to help with the clean-up.

The authorities have warned of the possibility of further eruptions.

'Grey desert'

They also said that should it rain, the ash could mix with debris to create dangerous mudflows.

The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted twice last week, forcing the evacuation of more than 6,000 people.

Chilean authorities said on Saturday that the volcano had spewed out an estimated 210 million cubic metres (7,420 million cubic feet) of ash.

Local resident Victor Hugo Toledo said the area looked like a "grey desert".

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Residents who had been evacuated were allowed back to salvage some of their possessions

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Farmers feared for their livestock after fields were covered in volcanic ash

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Farmers tried to find alternative places for grazing but found much of the area covered in ash

"Wherever you look all you see is grey dust; there is an average of 50cm (20in) of it over the towns and on all the roofs," he told the Associated Press news agency.

The authorities allowed some of the residents evacuated from the town of Ensenada to return briefly in order to try to save some of their belongings.

Rony Alvarado found that the roof of his restaurant had collapsed under the weight of the ash.

"Eleven years of work [gone] in one day, one second," he said.

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Roofs collapsed under the weight of the ash

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And many businesses remained closed

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Many roads are still covered in ash and it is feared that rain could turn it into a hard crust

On Saturday, the Chilean government announced it would provide aid to cover huge financial losses incurred by local farmers and to help evacuate thousands of farm animals.

The second eruption on Thursday created a cloud of ash that rose 20km (12 miles) into the air.

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Ash and smoke continued to spew from the Calbuco after the two eruptions last week

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Calbuco is one of around 90 active volcanoes in Chile.

The country has been hit by a series of natural disasters in recent months including flooding in the usually arid north and wildfires in its southern forests.

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skibboy
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Chile's Calbuco volcano erupts for third time

9 hours ago

Chile's Calbuco volcano has erupted for the third time in eight days, leading the government to order the evacuation of 2,500 people.

Some of those residents had only just returned to their homes after last week's eruptions.

The latest eruption was less powerful, but sent a large plume of dark grey smoke and ash rising from the crater.

Calbuco surprised residents of the Los Lagos region last week by bursting into life after 54 years of inactivity.

The National Geology and Mines Service issued a red alert after Thursday's eruption, warning that the volcano remained unstable.

On Friday, residents were warned that heavy rain could mix with ash and rock to produce deadly volcanic mudflows.

These "lahars" can slide down volcanoes like avalanches.

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Thousands of people have been evacuated from the area around the Calbuco volcano since last week

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The government has said that anyone within a 20-mile radius of the crater should leave

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Calbuco is one of the most active volcanoes in Chile

The BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago says that whereas the ash last week was blown in a north-easterly direction, this time it is drifting south-east over the town of Cochamo.

The town has been blanketed in a cloud of smoke and ash.

Calbuco is one of the most active volcanoes in Chile, having erupted in 1961 and 1972, and many times before that.

Last week's eruptions caused the cancellation of flights to and within Chile, and forced farmers in the area to evacuate their livestock.

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