Volcano Eruption - Costa Rica (Turrialba Volcano)

[link to hisz.rsoe.hu]


Volcano Eruption 06/01/2010 - 04:12:31
Country Costa Rica Turrialba Volcano



Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano erupted on Tuesday, spewing ash and rocks and forcing 21 people in its vicinity to evacuate their homes, the Volcano and Seismology Observatory said. "In the afternoon, we had a small eruption of the volcano with pyroclastic material, chiefly ash blown by the wind," observatory director Juan Segura said. The last time the 3,328-meter (10,918-foot) volcano erupted was in 2007, he added. Authorities issued an alert for the area surrounding the volcano, located 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of San Jose, and said 21 people were evacuated. Segura said that a team of vulcanologists would climb to the top of the volcano early Wednesday "to make an on-site assessment" of the volcano. The last major eruption of the Turrialba volcano was in 1856. It has had at least five major explosive eruptions in the last 3,500 years.

Situation Update No. 1
On 06.01.2010 at 06:14 GMT+2

Costa Rica's national Emergency Commission has declared a medium-level alert after an eruption of ash at the Turrialba volcano. The commission says ash fell in a radius of about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the peak, affecting some small nearby communities. The 10,958-foot (3,340-meter) volcano is 42 miles (70 kilometers) east of San Jose, the capital. The commission said in a statement Tuesday that authorities evacuated 21 people from a community near Turrialba. The national park that includes the volcano will be closed to visitors. Activity at the volcano has increased in recent months. The last major eruption there occurred 145 years ago.