Mexico's roaring "Popo" spews ash and smoke.
Reuters
2012-05-05
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ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
Mexico's towering Popocatepetl released columns of ash and smoke from its massive crater on Friday (April 04).
Last month, Mexico's National Center for Disaster Protection raised the alert level for Popocatepetl, indicating possible magma expulsion and explosions of increasing intensity. It is the third-highest warning on the center's seven-step scale.
In the shadows of the massive volcano, residents of the Puebla state town of Xalitzintla are trying to adjust to life under the daily fumes and ash from El Popo's core.
According to civil protection authorities, exit routes for towns have been cleared and shelters established with bed and kitchen facilities in case an order for evacuation is given. Soldiers and public transport are also on stand by to help transport local residents to nearby refuges if needed.
The 5,483 meter (17,992 feet) volcano, whose name means "smoking mountain" in the Nahuatl Indian language, lies just 64 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Mexico City and its 18 million residents.
"Popo," as the volcano is commonly known, has spat out mile-high clouds of ash and smoke several times this year. Its last major eruption took place in 2000, just one week shy of Christmas Day. Over 40,000 evacuees haphazardly fled their homes and choked highways heading out of the area.
Mexico's towering Popocatepetl released columns of ash and smoke from its massive crater on Friday (April 04).
Last month, Mexico's National Center for Disaster Protection raised the alert level for Popocatepetl, indicating possible magma expulsion and explosions of increasing intensity. It is the third-highest warning on the center's seven-step scale.
In the shadows of the massive volcano, residents of the Puebla state town of Xalitzintla are trying to adjust to life under the daily fumes and ash from El Popo's core.
According to civil protection authorities, exit routes for towns have been cleared and shelters established with bed and kitchen facilities in case an order for evacuation is given. Soldiers and public transport are also on stand by to help transport local residents to nearby refuges if needed.
The 5,483 meter (17,992 feet) volcano, whose name means "smoking mountain" in the Nahuatl Indian language, lies just 64 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Mexico City and its 18 million residents.
"Popo," as the volcano is commonly known, has spat out mile-high clouds of ash and smoke several times this year. Its last major eruption took place in 2000, just one week shy of Christmas Day. Over 40,000 evacuees haphazardly fled their homes and choked highways heading out of the area.
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