Volcanic Eruptions Hit
Communities in Guatemala and Ecuador
GUATEMALA - The eruptions of two volcanoes
in Guatemala and Ecuador have hit
communities forcing thousands of people to
flee their homes while disrupting air
traffic as ash drifted over wide regions.
The Pacaya volcano, in Guatemala, began
erupting lava and rocks on Thursday
afternoon, blanketing the country's capital
with ash and forcing the closure of the
international airport. President Alvaro
Colom declared a "state of calamity."
More than 2,000 people were evacuated from
communities closer to the Pacaya, which is
about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of
Guatemala City. A television journalist
perished under a shower of burning rocks and
three children were reportedly missing on
Friday night.
The 2,552 meter (8,373 foot) high mountain
spewed a thick cloud of ash plume over 1,000
meter (3,000 feet) high over 20 kilometers
(12 miles) to the northwest. On Saturday
morning the La Aurora airport was still
closed.
The last time the Pacaya erupted was in
1998.
Meanwhile, strong explosions rocked
Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano, known as the
"Throat of Fire", prompting evacuations of
hundreds of people from nearly villages.
The National Geophysics Institute said hot
volcanic material blasted down the slopes of
the volcano, and ash plumes soared 10
kilometers (6 miles) above a crater that is
already 5,023 meters (16,479 feet) above sea
level.
The wind blew ashes over the city of
Guayaquil, forcing the authorities to halt
air traffick out of it and from the capital,
Quito, to nearby Peru.
Eruptions at Tungurahua, 150 kilometers (95
miles) southeast of Quito, buried entire
villages in 2006, leaving at least four dead
and thousands homeless.
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