Pacaya Volcano Eruption in Guatemala

On May 27, 2010, a volcano erupted in Guatemala. Hundreds of Guatemalan residents were forced to be relocated. The volcano, Pacaya, was one of the most active volcanoes in Guatemala. On Thursday, the volcano suddenly started to spew lava and rocks out. Many people fled the scene to safe locations.

The Pacaya volcano is near Guatemala City, the capital city of Guatemala. In the process of eruption, one person died and three children were missing. A TV reporter was said to be killed by the erupting stones from the volcano. Meanwhile, the international airport in Guatemala City was also forced to close due to the volcano eruption. Flights in the La Aurora airport were directed to other airports.

During the eruption, many houses collapsed and many properties were lost. People ducked under the bed and the table in order to survive the eruption. The volcano eruption caused a storm of stones that attacked on surrounding villages and houses. Numerous houses and properties were damaged in the process. Volcano ashes covered the surrounding area of the volcano.

As the volcano eruption came to an end, government officials began to dispatch people to clean up the ashes. A state of emergency was also declared in the Escuintla region and Guatemala City, where the volcano erupted. Also, another person was also killed but not directly by the eruption. He fell down the building while cleaning up the ashes of the volcano eruption. Other than those fleeing the villages surrounding the volcano, hundreds of people were also moved to temporary shelters. About a thousand homes were damaged or demolished by the volcano eruption.

Even though Pacaya Volcano is very dangerous, it is a very popular tourist destination. Tourists often walk right next to the lava and take pictures of it. There are also a lot of hikers who like the climb the volcano. Even though the eruption slowly decreased in activity, another major eruption might still occur. Explosions and eruptions of the volcano were still continuing at a pace of reaching 500 meters above the crater surface. Ashes were the main danger of the volcano. They were reaching 1500 meters and scattering in numerous villages and cities around the volcano.

Guatemala is a country covered by numerous volcanoes. However, among the approximately eight thousand volcanoes in Guatemala only eight of them are active. And Pacaya volcano is one of these active volcanoes. There is a big eruption in 1989 in which ashes were flying into the sky to almost 50 miles far. Last time the Pacaya volcano covers Guatemala City with its ashes was in 1998.