Peru Volcano Rumbles to Life, Evacuations

AFP Photo / September 2013

Heather Callaghan
Activist Post

By now, news has reached every end of the globe of the 8.2 magnitude earthquake in northern Chile last night (North American time). Chilean coastal cities were on tsunami alert, as there was detection of an ocean wave generated – but those warnings have now been lifted.

The epicenter of the earthquake affected fault lines in a “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes. Southwestern Peru was also affected by the earthquake and one volcano started to spew ash on Tuesday.

Ubina has not exploded in forty years, but signs of spewing ash skyward caused authorities to evacuate villagers as a precaution.

Yahoo reports:

The volcano in southwestern Peru blasted back to life causing about 60 villagers from Querapi, near its base, to be relocated Saturday, Ubinas town mayor Pascual Coaquira said.

“We are readying a shelter for refugees from the blasts,” he added Tuesday, noting that the whole Moquegua region was on alert.

The mayor said that the ash had been raining all day on Tuesday, and residents were having trouble breathing. The ones struggling with respiratory distress were given masks to help breathe.

The geological and mining agency for Peru noted unusual lava build-up in recent days and warned that local residents should prepare for more evacuations.

Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work at NaturalBlaze.com and ActivistPost.com. Like at Facebook.

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