Alert as volcano stirs in Mexico

[iomkiwi]

A powerful plume of steam and ash has risen from the Popocatepetl volcano in central Mexico, prompting local schools to cancel classes and emergency teams to prepare for evacuations.

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[Mark]

Popo spews glowing rock, tower of ash

It sounds like the roaring of the sea,” says nearby resident.

Webcam images on the National Disaster Prevention Center website showed a towering plume of ash rising from the top of the 17,886-foot (5,450-meter) peak this morning, while the Televisa television network broadcast images of red, glowing material rising from the crater and falling on its slopes.
 
Up on the mountain, it feels incredible,” said nearby resident Aaron Sanchez Ocelotl. “It sounds like the roaring of the sea.”
 
“Everyone needs to take this seriously. This buzzing, this roaring isn’t normal,” said Gregorio Fuentes Casquera, assistant mayor of Xalitzintla, a village about seven miles (12 km) from the summit.
 
Most violent eruption in 1,200 years
 
Authorities this week raised the alert level at the volcano – whose most violent eruption in 1,200 years occurred on Dec. 18, 2000 – to yellow phase three from yellow phase two,  the third-highest warning on the center’s seven-step scale.
 
Though not ready to order evacuations, the coordinator general for civil protection, Laura Gurza, urged people living near the mountain to be “very very attentive” to action at the volcano, which lies about 40 miles (65 km) from Mexico City.
 
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Popo Webcam - www.cenapred.unam.mx/popo/ImgPopoTlamacas.html
 
Popocatépetl Webcam
 
The image, which is updated every minute, shows the northern flank of the volcano including the glacier. Intense cloudy or transmission problems can sometimes affect visibility of the volcano
 
http://www.cenapred.unam.mx/popo/ImgPopoTlamacas.html