2023-05-24 00:22:02
AMECAMECA, Mexico (AP) — Concerns about the state of the Popocatépetl volcano are changing all the time. Whereas to the east of the mountain, residents were sweeping the streets and wearing face masks, here, to the west, they watched unfazed as gases and ash poured out of the crater.
The 17,797-foot (5,425-meter) high mountain, located just 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City and affectionately known as “El Popo,” has been spewing for several days, bathing towns and crops from the state of Puebla with a thin layer of ash.
“When he doesn’t do anything, we do worry,” said Viridiana Alba, who has sold flowers in Amecameca’s central plaza for 25 years. The volcano rises right in front of her post.
“We know that right now that it is putting out smoke, it is releasing the energy of what it stores,” he commented. There are still ashes on the awning that protects his flowers, which fell last weekend, when he had a headwind. The town has felt the tremors caused by the volcano, but as long as the ash remains low, she believes it will help her plants.
The winds have blown a huge column of ash to the east, over the states of Puebla and Veracruz, and eventually over the Bay of Campeche and beyond.
The National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) pointed out in its report on Tuesday that small lava domes continue to form inside the crater, which were being destroyed by small and moderate explosions. He added that it is possible that residents of communities near the volcano will continue to feel these explosions in the coming days and weeks.
Three days ago, “my house vibrated almost all night, it was something impressive,” said Arturo Benítez, a former local official. “The sound of the volcano was loud, it is similar to when a boiler is on and a lot of ash fell, but suddenly on this side it normalized.”
That was on Sunday, when the authorities increased the alert level, although they assure that there is no risk at this time for the population.
No evacuations have been ordered, but the authorities have been mapping evacuation routes, preparing shelters and carrying out drills.
In Amecameca, the police handed out flyers with information on preparations in case the volcano increases its activity. The pamphlet recommended having important documents on hand, keeping vehicles with a full tank of fuel, having face masks and towels available to moisten in case residents need to leave on short notice.
Most residents already know what to do, especially those who remember a 1997 eruption that “darkened the sky, you saw thunder… and rain of mud fell,” Benítez said.
“The pyroclastic cloud came to Amecameca and it was chaos, everyone wanted to get out at that moment and it was tremendous,” he added.
The only time Popocatépetl triggered a red alert on the government’s alarm system since it emerged from decades of inactivity in 1994 was in 2000. The volcano’s last major eruption was more than 1,000 years ago.
On this occasion, the activity registered so far has not been of great importance for the residents of the area, but the local impacts could be of magnitude for the inhabitants of one side of the volcano while on the other side everything continues normal.
Benítez, who worked for years as a photographer for federal authorities monitoring the volcano, said he believes the coverage he has been given in recent days has been somewhat exaggerated. “It’s not a big deal, unless they know something that we don’t know because activity has relaxed.”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also downplayed the situation on Tuesday.
“We are going to be aware of anything and we are going to report immediately,” he said. “But we feel that there will be no problem.”
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