The Láscar volcano in northern Chile upgraded from yellow alert category to orange before the activity log and the security perimeter were extended to a radius of 10 kilometers, the authorities announced on Saturday.
On Friday night, monitoring stations recorded “a increase in seismicitymainly that associated with fluid dynamics within the volcanic system,” said Álvaro Amigo, national deputy director of geology and mining (Sernageomin).
The service specializing in monitoring volcanoes has also indicated that it is possible eruptive pulsations with columns that exceed 5 kilometers high, projection of ballistic blocks and dispersion of ash around the volcano. The orange alert is immediately below the red alert, which means risk of eruption.
However, after a meeting to study the situation, the authorities have expanded the security perimeter of the volcano. 5 to 10 kilometers.
The lascar volcano It is located in the northern region of antofagasta, about 70 kilometers from the tourist resort of San Pedro de Atacama, which receives thousands of travelers every year to see its desert landscapes and its clear skies where the stars can be observed very clearly. It is located more than 1,600 kilometers north of Santiago.
In these hours another volcano in the country, Villarica, in the south, is on yellow alert.
Chile has one of the most important volcanic chains on Earth and in its territory there are more than 2,000 volcanoes, 90 of which are potentially dangerous. Sernageomin constantly monitors 45 of them.
The Argentine Mining Geological Service (Segemar) clarified that the observed surface activity “is maintained with low-energy passive degassing”, but warned that “due to the characteristics of the recorded event and considering the historical instrumental documentation for this volcano, the occurrence of explosions similar to those recently recorded, considering a potential impact area of 3 km around the active crater of the volcano”.
Lascar volcano is a composite stratovolcano located in the Antofagasta region, completely in Chilean territory, ranking 14th in the volcanic risk ranking of the neighboring country, being the most active volcano in northern Chile.
With information from agencies
DB extension
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.