Pictures: Mexico Volcano Spews Ash 2 Miles High

Red Hot
Photograph by Francisco Guasco, European Pressphoto Agency
One of the world's most active volcanoes, Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, has come to life, spewing ash, gas, and steam (as seen from the village of Santiago Xalitzintla on July 4).
Just 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Mexico City, the volcano has spit out a cloud of ash and vapor 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) high.
The volcano has been exploding for several days, causing Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention to elevate their national alert rating to Yellow Phase 3. A yellow alert signals that the volcano has demonstrated medium-to-high levels of activity. The next and final step would be a red alert, which would require the evacuation of nearby residents. (Watch video: Volcanoes 101.)
Al Jazeera reported that international airlines have cancelled flights in and out of Mexico City, stranding hundreds of people over the weekend.
This is not the first time the 17,900-foot (5,455-meter) Popocatepetl has been active this year. In June, the warning level for the volcano was also raised to yellow after an explosion generated an ash plume that rose over a mile (1.6 kilometers) above the crater.
—Jaclyn Skurie
Published July 8, 2013
Eruption in Progress
Photograph by Marco Ugarte, AP
A plume of ash and steam from the Popocatepetl volcano overshadows a Catholic church in Santiago Xalizintla, Mexico, on July 7. (See volcano pictures.)
Published July 8, 2013
Coated in Ash
Photograph by Imelda Medina, Reuters
Debris from Popocatepetl has blanketed nearby plants in the mountain pass Paso de Cortes in ash and gas, as seen in a July 7 picture.
Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention has observed a glow near the volcano's crater and reported emissions of incandescent fragments. (Explore a volcano interactive.)
Published July 8, 2013
To the Rescue
Photograph by Dario Lopez-Mills, AP
Rescue workers walk in Paso de Cortes as ash and rain fall from nearby Popocatepetl on July 6.
Officials advise people living nearby the volcano to wear long sleeves, cover their mouths and noses from smoke, protect valuable documents, and prepare for a possible evacuation. (Get more volcano safety tips.)
Published July 8, 2013
Spewing to the Sky
Photograph from CENAPRED/Reuters
An aerial view of Popocatepetl volcano spews smoke and ash nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) into the sky in the outskirts of Puebla, Mexico, on June 25.
Monitoring the volcano has raised the alert to Yellow Phase 3, the second highest warning on the center's seven-step scale.
Published July 8, 2013
Fired Up
Photograph by Leonardo Casas, Xinhua Press/Corbis
Smoke spews from Popocatepetl near Santiago Xalitzintla on July 7.
On July 6, Mexico's volcano-monitoring system registered two hours of low-frequency and high-amplitude tremors, accompanied by a column of steam, water, gas, and ash.
Published July 8, 2013

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16 comments

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Russ Innanen

1 Like

What bothers me about these things, floods, landslides, avalanches, forest fires and even volcanoes is that they are called "natural disasters" when people have to be evacuated who live near these sites, or to stay and be injured or even killed.

These are not "natural" disasters, they are disasters made by man, not nature. People living too close to rivers, volcanoes, forests and denuded hillsides and snow filled mountain slopes will suffer as long as they insist on living where these dangers exist, - disastrous because of man, not nature.

Wendy Seah

1 Like

@Russ Innanen What bothers me is that u, without prior knowledge of the ppl there & geographic knowledge had thrown an un-kind judgement on them . Who would want to endanger their family & kids if given a choice! I believe if they are all rich & can be mobile as & when, then ppl would have moved. They r ppl who rely on farming, terracing or what so for livelihood, & of cos u shd understand what fertile soil it have or pls read up more. If u attribute to man-made, then is due to global warming cause by electricity etc like air con. So probably u r also one of the contributors. Pls refer to the link as below to learn more & follow by the many more links it have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disaster

inkaan_bonnie Wrenshall

Some close friends of ours live in Puebla and when it's really bad, the ash floats down like snow, but it's much heavy than snow. When it's like that, kids can't go to school and everyone has to wear face masks. The city is essentially brought to a standstill. Luckily we're a long way from there - give me sunny Yucatan any day! We recommend you come down to see us instead! www.inkaan.com

raven race

it's sad but also amazing?!

Penelope anastasakos

Simply amazing. Its been popping off quite regularly!

Abid Majid

Awsome !

Abid Majid

Awsome !....Beauty.

Andres Acevedo

1 Like

I hope that the people of mexico will take serious the warnings. there all in my hart and thoughts.,

ebrahim tail ebrahim

yes i like

Peace Seeker

1 Like

This documentary film is about the people who live around the Mayon volcano in the Bicol region of the Philippines. The documentary presents how the locals cope with living next to a source of constant danger, and also some of their experiences during and after deadly volcanic disasters such as lahars, pyroclastic flows and eruptions. It also presents some of the strategies for dealing with volcano disasters and with the evacuation dilemma. Mayon: The Volcano Princess contains interviews with local residents, officials, and scientists, as well as an animated recreation of the tragic legend of Princess Magayon who is believed to be buried under the volcano.

http://www.cultureunplugged.com//play/12784