Volcano in Chile
The Chaitén volcano in southern Chile blasted ash and what appeared to be lava a dozen miles into the air on Tuesday, leading the government to order the immediate and complete evacuation of everyone living within a 30-mile radius of it.
Until now considered to be inactive, Chile’s Chaitén volcano erupted Friday and led to the evacuation of everyone living within a 30-mile radius of it.
Preceded by dozens of tremors, the volcano — until now considered inactive — began erupting last Friday. It covered about 60 square miles with more than 15 inches of ash, rendering the air unbreathable, contaminating water sources, killing livestock and destroying all small- and medium-scale agriculture in this rural and mostly impoverished area 800 miles south of the capital, Santiago.
Having been ashed on by two volcanos myself, Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Pinatubo, I have a fair amount of sympathy for the people facing this disaster.
