Topline
Mexican officials warned mass evacuations could be coming to central Mexico as the country’s second-tallest active volcano—Popocatépetl—spews plumes of smoke and ash into the air just south of Mexico City, threatening travel and forcing schools and airports to close.
Ash and smoke spewed from the top of Popocatepetl, Mexico’s second-tallest active volcano, prompting … [+]
Key Facts
Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination tweeted a warning to residents Tuesday morning, advising them not to “underestimate” the dangerous health effects of inhaling volcanic ash, especially among children, older adults and people with respiratory diseases, while advising curious onlookers against climbing up to the volcano’s crater, warning it is “irresponsible.”
Laura Velázquez Alzúa, the director of Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center, said in a news conference Monday after the agency raised its alert level to Yellow Alert Phase Three—just below an evacuation order—to take “extreme precautions,” according to a translation by Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Authorities would raise the alert level again to Red Alert—necessitating an evacuation order—if the volcano’s explosive activity escalates to intermediate to high danger, if it creates a smoke column “several kilometers” into the air and “incandescent fragments” spewing from the volcano’s crater, though U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist Jessica Bell told the New York Times it’s normal for active volcanoes to undergo cycles of increased activity.
Claudia Sheinbaum, the mayor of Mexico City—45 miles northwest of Popocatépetl—warned residents of ash fall from an eruption, tweeting on Sunday: “Let’s stay alert” (nearly 25 million people live within 60 miles of Popocatépetl, CNN reported).
Popocatepetl’s activity has spiked in recent weeks amid a series of eruptions over the past 30 … [+]
Officials in Mexico advised residents against climbing the volcano, and warned children and older … [+]
Incandescent materials, ash and smoke are spewed from the summit of Popocatepetl.
Hundreds of flights into and out of Mexico City’s airports have been canceled or delayed as a result … [+]
Big Number
513. That’s the number of flights delayed Tuesday morning at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport, including 337 arriving flights and 176 departing flights, according to flight travel tracking site Flight Aware. Another 66 flights have been canceled at the airport Tuesday morning.
Key Background
A miles-wide plume of thick black smoke and ash spewing from the volcano prompted officials at the Benito Juarez International Airport and Felipe Angeles Airport, north of Mexico City, to temporarily shut down Saturday, while local school systems in the area were also forced to close. The volcano’s activity has been gradually increasing in recent weeks, with low and intermediate-level eruptions, hurling “fragments” into the air and producing “light to moderate ash rains” in the surrounding communities as well as “some more distant cities,” according to the National Disaster Prevention Center. In the week ending May 16, the volcano produced between 127 and 281 minor to moderate explosions per day, according to data from the Disaster Prevention Center.
Surprising Fact
Popocatépetl was inactive for decades before a series of eruption events starting in the 1990s and continuing throughout the early 2000s, with its first emission of ash after 70 years in 1994. In the year 2000, an eruption prompted officials to evacuate nearly 50,000 people from nearby communities, while more activity in 2012 caused schools to close and officials to prepare for more evacuations.
Further Reading
The 27 Most Active Volcanoes In The World And What Could Erupt Next (Forbes)
Watch: Mauna Loa—World’s Largest Active Volcano—Erupts On Hawaii (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/05/23/what-to-know-about-about-popocatpetl-mexicos-volcano-threatening-mass-evacuations/