The alert grows in El Salvador due to the eruption of the Chaparrastique volcano: shelters are ready for possible evacuees

Erupting volcano in El Salvador

The Civil Protection Directorate of El Salvador issued an alert for the increased activity in the volcano Chaparrasticin the eastern part of the country, and called on the population to follow the recommendations of the authorities after the start of a eruptive phase.

“We ask the population to abide by the recommendations and find out from the official media,” the deputy director of Civil Protection said at a press conference on Monday, Fermin Perez.

The Environment Observatory reported that the volcano, located 135 kilometers east of the capital in the department of San Miguelrecords explosions in his central crater and is in an eruptive phase of intensity 1 on an explosion index scale of 0 to 8.

The San Miguel volcano, also known by locals as Chaparrastique, became active a few weeks ago (Archyde.com)

On Sunday the volcano launched hot rocks around the crater and ashes. no casualties reported.

Due to the volcanic activity, three municipalities were placed on alert, said the director of Civil Protection, Luis Alonso Amaya.

The volcano from afar (AFP)

The authorities reported that they have installed 26 hostels equipped to protect more than 10.000 personas and a command post in the area with the presence of the National Emergency System in order to keep information updated and reinforce monitoring.

The authorities extended the security radius to six kilometers from the crater towards the lower area of ​​the volcano.

The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Enrique Paradaruled out that the recent explosions have caused damage to crops in the area.

The department of San Miguel is characterized by crops of basic grains, coffee, vegetables, sugar cane and livestock, but the minister stressed that at this time the main thing “is to safeguard the integrity of our producers.”

The volcano is already throwing rocks (EFE)

Civil Protection reported that they have registered an average of 14 explosions per day with the emanation of gases, water vapor and ash that have reached an average height of more than 1,100 meters. Vibrations have also been generated that have caused rocks to fall.

The San Miguel volcano, also known as Volcán Chaparrastique, has a height of 2,130 meters and is among the six most active in El Salvador.

The last major eruption was in January 2016 when it spewed a large amount of ash and gases for more than 13 hours straight.

(With information from AP)

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