Mexico preparing to evacuate millions of people due to Popocatepetl’s ongoing volcanic activity

Mexico preparing to evacuate millions of people due to Popocatepetl’s ongoing volcanic activity

Arsenio Toledo

Mexican authorities are preparing to evacuate millions of people as the Popocatepetl volcano continues its eruption, spewing massive amounts of ash and rock in surrounding areas.

Popocatepetl, which means “smoking mountain” in the native Mexican Nahuatl language, is a nearly 18,000-feet high volcano with more than 1,000-foot-wide crater at its summit. It is Mexico’s largest active volcano and it crosses the borders of the central Mexican states of Puebla, Morelos and the State of Mexico. Approximately 25 million people live within a 60-mile radius of Popocatepetl, which is just 45 miles southeast of Mexico City and its more than nine million inhabitants.

The volcano began erupting earlier this month after geological officials from both Mexico and the United States detected new and serious activity coming from it in mid-April.

Its latest activity, according to the Mexican National Center for the Prevention of Disasters(CENAPRED), was between 11 a.m. local time Sunday, May 21, to 11 a.m. local time Monday, May 22. During this 24-hour period, CENAPRED recorded nearly 1,400 minutes of high-frequency tremors, two moderate explosions and five bursts of water vapor, volcanic gases and ash.

CENAPRED on Sunday raised the alert level for the immediate area around Popocatepetl to phase 3, just shy of an evacuation order. Sergio Salomon, the governor of Puebla, said that roughly three million people who live in municipalities directly adjacent to the volcano have been told to stay alert and prepare for a possible evacuation.

Nicknamed “El Popo” by people who live in central Mexico, the volcano has been spewing enormous amounts of ash in the surrounding region since its recent series of volcanic activity.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 67-year-old said he was very concerned about the volcano’s recent abnormal behavior. “The government is preparing evacuation routes, so it’s pretty serious.”

Mexico’s civil protection agency warned residents in cities affected by ashfall to protect themselves by covering their noses and mouths with face masks and wearing glasses and long-sleeved shirts and blouses when going outside to minimize contact. Authorities have also urged people to avoid exercising outdoors in the meantime.

The ashfall has been so severe in some parts of the country that it has caused major disruptions. Two airports serving Mexico City had to be shut down for several hours on Saturday, May 20, after so much ash accumulated on runways that airport authorities had to cease all operations just to clean it up. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported that the ash eruption that affected the airport reached as high as 4.5 miles and dropped up to 32 millimeters (1.25 inches) of ash on Mexico City.