Pacaya volcano eruption spills molten lava in Guatemala
Pacaya volcano eruption spills molten lava in Guatemala

The eruption of the Pacaya volcano in Chisec, Guatemala has caused molten lava to flow all over the surrounding area in this footage from July 26.

Civil Protection authorities in Guatemala warned about the eruptive activity of the Pacaya volcano that has increased in recent months on a larger scale.

According to a statement issued by the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), during the last hours the colossus records explosions every minute and constant expulsion of lava.

The National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh) detailed that the colossus shows a moderately white fumarole that the wind displaces to the west, at a distance of approximately 7 kilometers.

The Institute also indicated that remnants of the lava flows still persist on the northwest flank, with weak incandescence at night.

Motivated by this, neighbors live day by day with the uncertainty that at any moment it will erupt again.

Conred said that the lava that rises has risen up to 150 meters above the crater.

The agency also reported that "constant monitoring" of the evolution of volcanic activity is being maintained, with the help of the emergency boards of all the communities settled on the slopes of the colossus.

However, at the moment, no type of preventive evacuation has been reported.

10 years ago, between May 27 and 28, the Pacaya volcano registered a very strong eruption that caused various havoc, including the death of a television journalist after having been exposed to toxic gases on a hillside that adjoins the giant.

Pacaya is located 20km south of the Guatemalan capital, specifically in the San Vicente Pacaya Municipality (Escuintla department).

The colossus is about 2,552 meters high and has registered, in the last hours, various explosions and expulsions of lava every minute.

These lava flows go to Cerro Chino with a length up to 100 meters.