Copahue volcano

Helena Lins,

Editor (South America)

 

SANTIAGO – Chile’s Geological and Mining Service issued a red alert last Sunday, after detecting an increase of the Copahue volcano’s activity on Saturday night.

The volcano, which is located in the Andes mountains on the border with Argentina, started spewing more gas than usual and an ash cloud billowing almost 1,5 km high.

This is the most severe alert in the Chilean warning system records, even though the volcano’s activity suggests a minor eruption. Nevertheless, Chilean authorities decided to issue the red alert as a precaution.

Alto Biobio, a community about 60 km east of the volcano is under the alert but, no mandatory evacuations have been demanded so far. But Chilean authorities have alerted for a potential risk of mudslides within a 15 km radius of the crater.

Image Courtesy: cbsnews.com