Villarrica Volcano Spews Lava in Latest Chile Natural Disaster

Edited by Ivan Martínez
2015-04-06 13:13:56

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Santiago de Chile, April 06 (teleSUR-RHC) Chile’s National Service of Geology and Mining issued an orange alert on Sunday, after the Villarrica volcano sent a plume of boiling ash high into the sky.

Authorities have reported low-level of volcanic eruptions, with the largest rising 300 meters above the crater, sending debris falling over its slopes.

Tourists remained in the tourist resort town of Pucon, with many taking pictures at Villarrica’s impressive eruptions.

Villarrica, one of South America's most active volcanoes, last erupted in 2000. The volcano's activity remains unstable since last month, when authorities were forced to preemptively evacuate nearby communities.

According to press, local authorities have decided to restore normal activities in Pucon, some 465 miles south of Santiago de Chile, following emergency protocols.

Chile is located in an area known as the Pacific Rim of Fire and has the second largest chain of volcanoes in the world after Indonesia, including at least 500 which are potentially active. Thirty-six are currently active and in the last 20 years there have been 15 volcanic eruptions.

Most large volcanoes in Chile are stratovolcanoes, which mean that they are tall and cone-shaped and made up of many layers of hardened lava and volcanic ash.

Recently, the Chilean government declared emergencies in two areas of the country, after wildfires razed thousand-year-old forests in the southern Araucania region, as well as recent flooding which caused devastation in the northern Atacama region.



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