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Thousands in El Salvador flee erupting Chaparrastique volcano
Topic Started: 30 Dec 2013, 12:41 AM (129 Views)
skibboy
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29 December 2013

Thousands in El Salvador flee erupting Chaparrastique volcano

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Chaparrastique is one of more than 20 volcanoes in El Salvador.

Thousands of people in eastern El Salvador are leaving their homes after a volcano erupted on Sunday morning.

Residents in the coffee-producing region said they had heard a powerful explosion before the Chaparrastique volcano began spewing hot ash and smoke into the air.

No one has been hurt, say the authorities.

Anyone living in a 3km (2 mile) radius will be evacuated.

Temporary shelters are being set up in the area.

Civil protection authorities say that some 5,000 people live in the area, in San Miguel province.

The eruption began at 10:30 local time (16:30 GMT).

The Salvadoran government says it had been monitoring the situation since 13 December, when they detected increased activity inside the volcano.

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Some 300 communities live around the volcano

There are more than 20 volcanoes in the small Central American nation.

At 2,129 metres (7,000 ft) above sea level, Chaparrastique is the third highest volcano in the country.

It spewed lava in 1976 and caused a strong tremor in the area in 2010.

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skibboy
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1 January 2014

El Salvador orders evacuation from volcano's slopes

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The volcano has stopped emitting ash, but is still spewing gas

Authorities in El Salvador have resumed evacuating residents living on the slopes of the Chaparrastique volcano.

The 2,130m-high (7,000 ft) volcano started erupting on Sunday morning, spewing ash and gases.

Officials from the Salvadoran environment ministry said there was a risk the volcano could erupt again, this time emitting a lava flow.

The last time the Chaparrastique spewed lava was in 1976. It also caused a strong tremor in the area in 2010.

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Many families have already left the shelters and returned to their homes

During Sunday's eruption a 5,000m-high ash cloud rose from the cone of the volcano.

Since then, it has been emitting gases.

Volcanologist Francisco Barahona of the University of El Salvador said that a further increase in the emission of sulphur dioxide could be a sign that another eruption was approaching.

Another eruption "could trigger not ashes, but a lava flow", Herman Rosa of the environment ministry said.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated after the first eruption on Sunday, but Civil Protection Director Jorge Melendez said almost half of them had decided to return to their homes against official advice.

He said people had been "reluctant" to stay in the shelters provided, but he warned the authorities would use coercion in the case of an emergency.

Chaparrastique is one of more than 20 volcanoes in the small Central American nation.

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