This is the moment Mexico’s mighty Popocatepetl volcano erupts and sends a huge column of ash over a mile into the air.
Popocatepetl, an active volcano located in the states of Puebla and Morelos in central Mexico, erupted three times on the morning of 8th September.
Video Credit: CEN/@CNPC_MX
Civil Protection coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said the first eruption took place at 7.58am and an ash column reached a height of 1,800 metres (5,905 feet), which dispersed to the south-west.
At 8.55am, a second explosion was registered while the biggest blast took place at 9.06am which sent a column of ash two kilometres (1.2 miles) into the sky.
Mexico’s Centre for Prevention of Disasters (Cenapred) said that the ash was dispersed in a south-westerly direction and the region’s traffic light warning system has been set at Yellow Phase 2.
The local authorities have instructed residents not to approach the volcano and falling ash is expected to affect the nearby municipalities of Tlahuapan, San Salvador el Verde, Teotlalcingo, Chiautzingo, Huejotzingo, Tlahuapan, Calpan, San Nicolas de los Ranchos and Tochimilco.
The Civil Protection authority has asked residents to keep their nose, mouth and eyes covered, and to drink lots of clean water.
About 25 million people live within a 60-mile radius of the active volcano’s crater
The name Popocatepetl comes from the Nahuatl language and means ‘Smoking Mountain’. It is also referred to by Mexicans as ‘El Popo’.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
