Chile’s snow-capped Villarrica volcano has been rocked by an earthquake and is spewing fire, putting authorities on alert for a possible eruption in the scenic area beloved by tourists. Since October, the 2,847-meter-high Villarrica has been the site of gas explosions and seismic events, with columns of fire up to 220 meters high shooting from the lava lake. Alvaro Amigo, head of the National Volcanic Surveillance Network, told AFP that “we cannot predict when the volcano will erupt, the conditions are in place,” according to daily assessments of activity on the ground.
Glacier-capped volcano overlooks the town of Pucon
The glacier-capped volcano overlooks the town of Pucon, with a population of around 28,000 who live just 15 kilometers (10 mi) from the summit. The region’s lakes and lush forests are a popular tourist attraction, with around 10,000 visitors climbing Villarrica each summer, according to official figures. “The thing with Villarrica is the risk because a lot of people live in areas that are highly exposed” to potential damage from the volcano, geophysicist Cristian Farias said. He warned that residents had forgotten the dangers of “what Villarrica can do.”
Amigo said the volcano is dangerous because its eruptions often produce dangerous flows of volcanic rock and mud, “and because it has a large population and infrastructure around it.” Experts compare the current level of activity to that before the previous eruption in 2015, when an explosion of lava, gas and ash shot 1.5 kilometers into the air and caused no damage before the volcano calmed down again.
The last major eruption of Villarrica was in 1984
The National Geological and Mining Survey issued a yellow alert in November in four towns near the summit, meaning no one can get within 500 meters of the crater. The authority has also implemented emergency evacuation plans and real-time monitoring of volcanic activity. A yellow alert is a step ahead of an orange alert, which indicates an imminent eruption. Mining Minister Marcela Hernando said the idea was to reassure citizens that technology and experts are constantly monitoring the 45 “most important volcanoes in Chile.”
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