Seen from above, volcanic ash paints Chile white Posted on May 11th
the ash cloud soaring from Chaiten volcano in southern Chile,
the whole area is carpeted in white and experts say the
eruption that began last week could last for months.
Ash that has reached as far as Argentina continued to spew
for a sixth day on Wednesday, disrupting flights to the
southern Patagonia region with no sign of a let-up.
“According to experts, the (ash cloud) is less dense, which
could indicate a lower probability of it exploding more
intensely, but it’s just a hypothesis,” Sergio Galilea, the top
government official in Chile’s southern lake region told
Reuters during a flight over the erupting volcano.
He said some animals left behind in the ash were confirmed
dead. From above, the waters of a fjord that Chaiten sits on
and a river were white with ash.
The surprise eruption of the long dormant 3,280-foot
(1,000-meter) Chaiten volcano has forced the evacuation within
a 30-mile (50-km) radius of the volcano, including more than
4,500 residents of Chaiten six miles from it.
Nonetheless, distraught residents evacuated from nearby
towns say they yearn to return as soon as possible.
“Everything is so uncertain,” said Patricio Ide, 40, who
was evacuated from the remote village of Chaiten to Puerto
Montt, 125 miles away from the volcano.
“This could last a month, three months, maybe we can never
return. We are so worried,” the mechanic said through tears. A
coating of ash over 6 inches thick has built up in places and
has contaminated ground water supplies.
Chaiten village can only be reached by boat or by air and
the navy took people out aboard warships. Given the scale of
the natural disaster, the government has not ruled out
relocating Chaiten’s residents permanently.
After a surge in activity on Tuesday, when the volcano spat
hot rocks and lava and the column of ash surged, officials said
its two craters had fused, helping ease pressure.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
But the eruption continued and experts said it would be
weeks and possibly even months before residents, who had to
leave their belongings, pets and lives behind, could return.
Veterinarians ventured to Chaiten on Wednesday to rescue
hungry, thirsty and scared pets, transporting some of them back
to Puerto Montt.
Evacuee Maria Angelica Hermosilla said she would go back
the first chance she got. “There is nothing like Chaiten,” the
42-year-old said. “Everyone knows each other, we are like a big
family, there is no violence, no muggings.”
The village of Chaiten is nestled by a fjord some 760 miles
south of the Chilean capital Santiago and is a magnet for
adventure tourism, fishing and trekking.
Sparsely populated Patagonia is the southernmost swathe of
Latin America that cuts across Chile and Argentina and is home
to towering snow-capped peaks, some of them volcanoes, glaciers
and fjords.
National Emergency Office official Rodrigo Rojas said winds
were pushing the vast ash cloud into Argentina, but that it was
no longer soaring miles into the air as it did when the
eruption started on Friday.
President Michelle Bachelet said it was the first time that
Chile has had to evacuate entire towns. The last residents of
Futaleufu further east were also being evacuated on Wednesday.
Luis Lara, a government geologist, said he did not expect a
catastrophic collapse of the volcano, and said any eventual
lava flow would not reach the town. But a cloud of dense, very
hot material could coat the surrounding area.
“The activity could continue for quite some time,” he said.
“It could be weeks, months. It could even be years, but not
with the same characteristics — with ups and downs.”
Neighboring Argentina canceled flights to Patagonia because
of the ash cloud.
In the town of Esquel, one of the worst affected on the
Argentine side of the border, the flurry of ash ceased on
Wednesday and schools reopened.
But ash continued to fall nearby and officials urged
residents to wear facemasks and not to drink from mountain
streams — a common practice in the area.
Chile is home to 2,000 volcanoes, 500 of which experts say
are potentially active.
(Additional reporting by Monica Vargas and Manuel Farias in
Santiago and Lucas Bergman and Cesar Illiano in Buenos Aires.
Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Kieran Murray)