Eruption Of Chile Volcano Cause Flight Cancellations

The Chile volcano that spewed an ash cloud caused a number of flights to be cancelled in Argentina and Chile. The Calbuco volcano, which had its last eruption in 1961, unexpectedly erupted on Wednesday. The resulting ash cloud was blown into cities located in the two countries by Thursday.

Ash and smoke were sent around fifteen kilometers into the sky close to Puerto Varas, a popular tourist destination around 1,000 kilometers south of Santiago, the capital of Chile. While a pause in the eruption was noted after two eruptions in the last twenty-four hours, experts said another eruption can occur.

Some parts of the ash cloud have already reached the city of Chillan, which it around 400 kilometers from Santiago. Arnoldo Zuniga, a government meteorologist said it may reach the capital any time soon.

Chile Volcano Erupts - image credit: cnn.com

Weather experts said most of the ash may find its way over the Andes Mountains and reach the Buenos Aires Province, which is around 1,500 kilometers away. Ignacio Lopez of the national meteorology center of Argentina said a third eruption may send the ash cloud to the capital of Argentina.

Flights were cancelled due to the danger posed by volcanic ash on aircraft. The eruption of another Chile volcano, the Puyehue volcano, in 2011 resulted to cancellations of flights as ash went up into the atmosphere. Lopez said the current eruption is less serious compared to the 2011 eruption. Ash may also remain suspended in the air due to the current meteorological conditions.

The Neuquen and Bariloche airports in Argentina were closed. The Bariloche was covered in gray ash, which may cause it to remain closed for some time. More than twenty domestic flights were cancelled by LAN Chile following the eruption. But, improving conditions has allowed flights to resume their normal schedules by Thursday afternoon.

The immediate area was evacuated, affecting around 4,500 people. Emergency services have concentrated on Ensenada, which is a small town located around 15 kilometers from the Chile volcano.

Posted by James Fried on Sunday April 26 2015, 12:18 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0