Mexico Popocatépetl Volcano: Authorities Raise Alert Level As Activity Increases

Mexico's National Disaster Prevention Center raised the alert level for the Popocatépetl volcano as seismic activity increased at the site about 40 miles southeast of Mexico City. After spewing a steady stream of ash over the city of Puebla last week, occasioning a temporary closure of its airport, the volcano continued to erupt with ever-increasing strength this weekend, shaking and emitting incandescent fragments as far as 300 meters from the rim and plumes of steam which reached a half mile into the sky. About 70,000 people live in the shadow of the 17,900-foot volcano. Authorities have deployed soldiers and federal police, set up shelters, and prepared routes in the event of possible evacuations which could take place in México, Puebla and Morelos states. The Center said in a statement that activity in the volcano could cause an explosion sending fragments out over a considerable distance.

The Center put the alert level at step three yellow, one above step-two yellow and one below red alert. The warning is the third highest on the center's seven-step scale and corresponds to "medium to high explosive activity, possible expulsion of magma and abundant ash rainfall".

An area of about seven square miles around the cone of the volcano was closed off on Sunday. El Pais reports that the government of Puebla has instructed citizens to keep on hand a flashlight and official documents in a plastic bag and to continue listening for further updates. According to official evacuation plans, the bells of nearby churches will sound and inhabitants will have to meet in the central plaza, where the military will begin to evacuate them. 10 different routes have been planned.

según detalla el plan oficial, las campanas de las iglesias sonarían y los habitantes tendrían que reunirse en la plaza central a la espera de que los militares los trasladasen.

El Pais reported this weekend that residents of Santiago Xalitzintla and San Nicolás de los Ranchos, the two closest towns to the volcano, said that the volcano was "roaring like a faraway sea" over the weekend. Others told the newspaper it sounded like "a gigantic boiling pot" and an "airplane engine". Popocatépetl, which means "smoking mountain" in Nahuatl, is colloquially referred to as "Don Gregorio", "Don Goyo" or "el Popo" in the area.

El Popo is one of the country's most active volcanoes. The last time it erupted was in 2005, and before than 2001.