Rumbling Mexican volcano keeps residents on alert
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SHOWS: Mexico's famed Popocatepetl continued to spew columns of ash and gas into the air on Monday. Nearly a week after authorities raised an alert level due to greater activity at the towering volcano, nearby towns are adjusting to life with the smoke and ash from El Popo's core.
For residents of the quaint town of San Nicolas De Los Ranchos on the outskirts of Popcatepetl it is business as usual. Long used to having one of the world's most active volcano's on their doorstep, the town is prepared for its increased rumblings.
Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention raised the alert level for Popocatepetl to yellow phase three from yellow phase two last week, indicating possible magma expulsion and explosions of increasing intensity. It is the third-highest warning on the center's seven-step scale.
One child care center official told Reuters some children have displayed flu-like symptoms due to the volcano.
With up to 50,000 residents across 24 towns at risk from volcanic gases and lava flow from Popocatepetl, locals are taking no chances with the volcano and prepared to evacuate if necessary.
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. More than 40,000 evacuees haphazardly fled their homes and choked highways heading out of the area.
SHOWS: Mexico's famed Popocatepetl continued to spew columns of ash and gas into the air on Monday. Nearly a week after authorities raised an alert level due to greater activity at the towering volcano, nearby towns are adjusting to life with the smoke and ash from El Popo's core.
For residents of the quaint town of San Nicolas De Los Ranchos on the outskirts of Popcatepetl it is business as usual. Long used to having one of the world's most active volcano's on their doorstep, the town is prepared for its increased rumblings.
Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention raised the alert level for Popocatepetl to yellow phase three from yellow phase two last week, indicating possible magma expulsion and explosions of increasing intensity. It is the third-highest warning on the center's seven-step scale.
One child care center official told Reuters some children have displayed flu-like symptoms due to the volcano.
With up to 50,000 residents across 24 towns at risk from volcanic gases and lava flow from Popocatepetl, locals are taking no chances with the volcano and prepared to evacuate if necessary.
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. More than 40,000 evacuees haphazardly fled their homes and choked highways heading out of the area.