Perilous
Times
3,500 evacuate as volcano erupts in southern Chile
By EVA VERGARA, Associated Press
SANTIAGO, Chile — A volcano in the Caulle Cordon of southern Chile
has erupted violently, billowing smoke and ash high into the sky
and prompting more than 3,500 people living nearby to evacuate and
forcing cancellation of flights. Ash and gas continued to billow
from the earth on Sunday
There were no reports of injuries from Saturday's eruption.
A column of gas six miles (10 kilometers) high and three miles
(five kilometers) wide rose from Puyehue-Cordon Caulle complex,
according to Chile's National Geology and Mining Service.
Chilean authorities evacuateed some 3,500 people from 22
settlements near the volcano, which produced an eerie show of
lightning dancing through its clouds of ash overnight.
Rodrigo Ubilla, Chile's undersecretary of labor, said some people
near the volcano had decided not to leave their homes because they
didn't want to abandon their animals.
Wind carried ash across the Andes to the Argentina, dusting the
tourist town of San Carlos de Bariloche, which had to close its
airport. Officials there urged people to use cover their mouths
and noses against the ash, to stock up on food and water and stay
indoors if possible.
The eruption is nearly 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of
Chile's capital, Santiago.
Authorities had put the area on alert Saturday morning after a
flurry of earthquakes, and the eruption began in the afternoon.
The National Emergency Office said it had recorded an average of
230 tremors an hour.