Nature & Environment
Mexico’s Popocatépetl Volcano Erupts With Enormous Ash Cloud
Sam D
First Posted: Nov 28, 2016 04:00 AM EST
Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano has been active since Friday, when it was seen spewing out a huge column of ash nearly 3.1 miles up in the sky. Villages located around the volcano, in the southeast region of Mexico City, have been warned of the seismic activity that can follow the eruption.
The Mexican National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) has published an online warning that the Popocatépetl volcano has had 160 exhalations, which include gas and steam emissions, since Friday, Nov. 25. Three explosions also reportedly occurred on Saturday morning, and during the night the crater showed incandescence with some exhalations.
The national authorities have declared a Yellow Alert of Mexico's Volcanic Traffic Light warning system due to the volcanic activity. This system guides people how to behave depending on the scale of an erupting volcano.
According to SEGOB, at the moment, a Yellow Stage 2 warning has been announced, which means that the municipalities near the volcano have to be prepared to evacuate their homes. The security perimeter around the Popocatépetl has a 12-kilometer radius. The municipalities most vulnerable to the risks associated with the volcano include Ocoyucan y Puebla, Tianguismanalco, San Nicolás de Los Ranchos, Tochimilco, Cholula and Atlixco.
People have also been warned to not go near the volcano or its crater due to the dangers posed by the toxic gases and fragments that are being spewed out. Any changes in warning status will be communicated by the CENAPRED and other authorities according to official reports.
According to CNN, one of the 1,500 potentially active volcanoes in Mexico, the Popocatépetl has been active since 1994. At 17,802 feet, the volcano whose name means "mountain that smokes" is the second highest peak in Mexico after the 18,491 feet high Citlaltépetl.
Popocatépetl has had more than 15 major eruptions since the 16th century and it recently erupted just a little more than three months ago, on Aug.17. With its frequent eruptions, the volcano has become a part of the lives of people living in its periphery.
"People in the city get afraid. The fear does not exist here," José Cortés Agustín told CNN Mexico in 2013. "He (the volcano) would not hurt us. He gives us beautiful images that there's no reason to fear."
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First Posted: Nov 28, 2016 04:00 AM EST
Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano has been active since Friday, when it was seen spewing out a huge column of ash nearly 3.1 miles up in the sky. Villages located around the volcano, in the southeast region of Mexico City, have been warned of the seismic activity that can follow the eruption.
The Mexican National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) has published an online warning that the Popocatépetl volcano has had 160 exhalations, which include gas and steam emissions, since Friday, Nov. 25. Three explosions also reportedly occurred on Saturday morning, and during the night the crater showed incandescence with some exhalations.
The national authorities have declared a Yellow Alert of Mexico's Volcanic Traffic Light warning system due to the volcanic activity. This system guides people how to behave depending on the scale of an erupting volcano.
According to SEGOB, at the moment, a Yellow Stage 2 warning has been announced, which means that the municipalities near the volcano have to be prepared to evacuate their homes. The security perimeter around the Popocatépetl has a 12-kilometer radius. The municipalities most vulnerable to the risks associated with the volcano include Ocoyucan y Puebla, Tianguismanalco, San Nicolás de Los Ranchos, Tochimilco, Cholula and Atlixco.
People have also been warned to not go near the volcano or its crater due to the dangers posed by the toxic gases and fragments that are being spewed out. Any changes in warning status will be communicated by the CENAPRED and other authorities according to official reports.
According to CNN, one of the 1,500 potentially active volcanoes in Mexico, the Popocatépetl has been active since 1994. At 17,802 feet, the volcano whose name means "mountain that smokes" is the second highest peak in Mexico after the 18,491 feet high Citlaltépetl.
Popocatépetl has had more than 15 major eruptions since the 16th century and it recently erupted just a little more than three months ago, on Aug.17. With its frequent eruptions, the volcano has become a part of the lives of people living in its periphery.
"People in the city get afraid. The fear does not exist here," José Cortés Agustín told CNN Mexico in 2013. "He (the volcano) would not hurt us. He gives us beautiful images that there's no reason to fear."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone