Guatemalan authorities evacuated about a thousand people on Monday after the eruption of the most active volcano in Central America, spewing lava, ash and rocks.
Residents of the traumatic memory of the deadly eruption in 2018 seek refuge, and the Fuego Volcano, 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital Guatemala City, showed escalating activities.
“We heard the rumble and then a strong outbreak,” Manuel Cobox, 46, told AFP after leaving the house with his wife and three daughters.
Juan Laureano, spokesman for the Disaster Coordination Bureau in Guatemala, said there are about 125 families and about 900 people from the community in El Porvenir.
Residents in another community in Las Rajtas were also evacuated, the official added.
The bus takes evacuees to the town hall to become a temporary shelter, while others live with friends or relatives.
Claudinne Ogaldes said at a press conference that about 30,000 people could be at “risk” and should be evacuated if necessary.
Guatemala often conducts earthquakes and volcanic activities on the “ring of fire” in the Pacific.
In 2018, when the eruption of Fuego volcano poured the lava river downward, destroying the village of San Miguel Los Los, killing 215 people and missing similar numbers.
On that occasion, residents “don’t believe Ke Bozi, who works in a pig farm, said that the size and tragedy of residents had happened.”
Amanda Santos, 58, said memories of the previous eruption were flooded when she heard the sirens from firefighters.
“That’s why we’re afraid. Many people die.”
Another 2023 eruption caused the evacuation of approximately 1,200 people from Fuego, 3,763 meters (12,346 feet).
Authorities issued an alert Sunday to coordinate responses and preventive measures, Conred said.
The government suspended local school activities and closed a road through the village that linked the southern part of the country to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Guatemala’s most popular tourist destination.
Authorities are monitoring the rapid flow of pyroclastic flows – hot ash, natural gas and rock debris, causing the volcano to descend.
The state-run Volcanologic Institute recommends that air traffic take precautions due to the spread of ash clouds.
JO-HMA/MIS/DR/BJT
