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Associated press
GUATEMALA – About 4,000 residents fled the Guatemalan fire volcano on Monday as burning rocks and ashes leapt into the sky and hurtled down the slopes towards an area devastated by a deadly eruption earlier this year.
The Guatemalan volcanology unit said the 12,300-foot mountain blasts shook the houses with "constant, locomotive-like sounds".
Incandescent materials erupted at an altitude of 3,200 feet above the crater and streams of hot rocks and ashes spread over nearly one kilometer of the volcano's flank. Hot explosions of pyroclastic material pushed into canyons on the slopes, while a column of ash rose to about 23,000 feet above sea level and drifted to Guatemala City, to the east.
Hundreds of families responded to the call of the authorities in charge of disaster coordination to evacuate 10 communities and found themselves in yellow school buses to go to shelters. The National Disaster Commission said 3,925 people were evacuated Monday morning.
The volcano of fire is one of the most active in Central America and an eruption in June killed 194 people. Another 234 are officially missing, although community-supporting organizations insisted that there were thousands of missing people.
He spewed more ash and hot rocks in October, giving warnings to neighboring communities.
The greatest dangers of the volcano are the lahars, a mixture of ashes, rocks, mud and debris that can bury entire cities. However, on Monday, no such flows reached populated areas even though the authorities were not at risk. they were severely criticized for failing to request evacuations earlier in June.
Four shelters have been set up for evacuees. Dora Caal, 26, and five members of her family took refuge in a nylon tent at a stadium in Escuintla.
"Last night we heard the volcano roar, you could see a fire, we could not sleep," said Caal, whose town of El Rodeo was largely evacuated.
"At dawn, we said we'd better go out, we were scared," said Caal as the sun set violently in the improvised shelter. People like Caal are still shocked by the effects of the June eruption.
"At the time, I lost my job at a farm on the slopes of the volcano. They closed it and we can not work there anymore, "she said.
Enma Hernandez, 42, left her home in El Rodeo to evacuate, but her 20-year-old son stayed behind to protect the family home from looters. In fact, many men stayed in the city; there were mainly women and children at the shelter.
