Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention has kept the alert level at Phase 3 Yellow, one step below red alert and the third highest on the seven-step scale, as the Popocatépetl volcano continued to erupt, just over 40 miles southeast of Mexico City. Reforma reported that authorities expected explosive activity of a medium to high scale and possible expulsion of lava in coming hours, in addition to increasingly intense explosions and raining ash over nearby towns and villages. At 9:56 this morning, Popocatépetl exploded, expelling steam, ash and incandescent fragments which reached three kilometers (1.86 miles) into the air and fell as far as 600 meters (almost 2000 feet) from the volcano's slope. Scroll down to see video of the explosion.
In a statement published online, the Center stated that their volcanic monitoring system registered approximately 3 hours of medium-sized tremors lasting as long as 17 minutes at a time. Overall, however, activity has been lower today, with fewer earthquakes and intermittent emissions.
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27 exhalations have been recorded over the past 24 hours by the Center, which included four recommendations in its statement. It called for maintaining the closure of an area with a 12-kilometer (7.4-mile) radius around the volcano; continuing to control traffic in neighboring towns; continuing preventative measures undertaken by police; and calling for the populace to remain attentive to official information.
It was also announced that on Wednesday, authorities will fly over the volcano in order to ascertain the state of the dome after the explosion this morning.
The governor of Puebla state, Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, told newspaper El Sol de Puebla that in the event that the alert level were to rise from Phase 3 Yellow to Phase 1 Red, the military commander in the zone would assume power temporarily.
"In the event that there were to occur a change in the volcanic alert level and a voluntary evacuation order were given, authority would be passed to the Armed Forces. All human, material and financial recourses of the state would be at the disposition of the commander of the 25th Military Zone," the governor said.
Valle Rosas also said that "life goes on" in Puebla and called for people to carry on as normal.
The governor made reference to the agricultural economy of towns near the volcano, saying that people in the area were preparing to free animals from their corrals if necessary and that if this were not possible and the animals end up losing their lives, the Puebla state government would compensate them for the costs of the animals.
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