Mexico Under Alert for Popocatépetl Volcano Eruption

Mexican authorities declared a state of alert after emissions of ash and volcanic gases were recorded in the Popocatépetl volcano, in central Mexico, in the territorial limits of the states of Morelos, Puebla and the state of Mexico, as reported by the Coordinating National Civil Protection.

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The volcano, with a height of 5,426 meters, has erupted by a crater located about 70 kilometers from the capital, about 40 kilometers from the city of Puebla and 60 from Cuernavaca, capital of the state of Morelos. In addition, about 25 million people live within 100 kilometers of the crater.

On Monday the National Guard, personnel of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred), flew over the volcano to verify the general conditions.

Through this operation, it was possible to certify the destruction of dome number 85, last November, and it was visualized that the internal crater of the volcano maintains a diameter of 350 meters although its depth decreased to 90 meters, since it was partially occupied by the remains of the dome, blocks and ashes.

Taking into account the monitored parameters and the information obtained during the overflight, there are chances that there will still be slight ash emissions, and eventually, some explosions could occur, not exceeding those already observed.

The volcanic alert is currently at the Yellow Phase 2 level, which reiterates the call to the population to respect the 12-kilometer restriction radius established by the authorities in the area.

Usually, Cenapred keeps issuing reports every 24 hours regarding the activity of Popocatépetl, throughout the year and its activity changes are communicated in a timely manner by the official accounts of the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC).