Evacuations Ordered as Volcán de Fuego Erupts in Guatemala

On Monday night, Guatemalan authorities ordered evacuations for communities near Volcán de Fuego due to an eruption. Claudinne Ogaldes, executive secretary of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), confirmed the activity began on Monday morning and increased throughout the day, prompting preventive evacuations.

Live broadcasts showed large gas and ash columns over the volcano as it spewed massive amounts of lava and a fast-moving pyroclastic flow down its slopes. The National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology, and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH) reported a height of 200 to 300 meters for the lava fountain, which ejected incandescent material in all directions.

“The eruption heightens its level of explosiveness,” stated INSIVUMEH in a press release.

CONRED issued a press release indicating preventive evacuations were underway in El Porvenir and Las Lajitas, part of San Juan Alotenango in Sacatepéquez. Approximately 50 families, totaling about 250 people, were expected to be evacuated to the municipality of San Juan Alotenango overnight.

A previous eruption on June 3, 2018, led to hundreds of deaths and the disappearance of an entire community. Up to 1.7 million people were affected. As a precaution, National Route 14 near the volcano has been closed. The Ministry of Education has also suspended classes in Alotenango, Escuintla, and Yepocapa.

The Volcán de Fuego stands at 3,768 meters and is one of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes. It is a stratovolcano, characterized by its tall, cone-shaped structure formed by layers of hardened lava, ash, and rocks. It is situated between the departments of Escuintla, Chimaltenango, and Sacatepéquez in the southern and central regions of the country. The volcano entered an eruptive phase last June, causing preventive evacuations.