The Pacaya volcano expelled a lava flow of 1600 …

the Pacaya volcano, located about 25 km south of Ciudad de Guatemala, has kept the country on alert since Thursday, when it was reactivated lava rivers which raised concerns in at least 20 neighboring communities. Civil protection authorities warned that a new flow spread to the 1,600 meters in length.

The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred) reported that, according to analysis for the past 24 hours, the lava flow is moving west and southwest of the volcano’s crater, which has its peak at 2552 meters above sea level. Height above sea level and is located about 40 kilometers south of Guatemala City.

The volcano ended last Friday a period of strong eruptive activity of nearly three months that held the country in suspense, in particular because of the lava which reached about 450 meters from the first inhabited houses in the villages of El Rodeo and El Patrocinio.

Twenty more communities complete the lava flow’s predictable route, putting some 37,915 people at risk, Conred reports. However, at the moment there are no major incidents.

Last March, the prolonged eruption caused the 24-hour closure of the capital’s La Aurora Airport, the country’s only international, due to gusts of wind that caused an ash shower in areas north of the country. volcano, including Guatemala City.

El Pacaya recorded a powerful eruption on May 27, 2010 that killed a television reporter while covering the news. In addition, it caused damage to crops.

In Guatemala, a country with around thirty volcanoes, Santiaguito (west) and Fuego (southwest) are also active.