Volcano eruption in Guatemala forces hundreds to evacuate

Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire is erupting, and authorities have evacuated nearly 300 families while warning that another 30,000 people in the area could be at risk.

Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire is erupting, and authorities have evacuated nearly 300 families while warning that another 30,000 people in the area could be at risk. The eruption started overnight. There is no immediate report of casualties. The 12,300-foot (3,763-meter) high volcano is one of the most active in Central America. It last erupted in June 2023. The volcano spewed gas and ash far into the sky Monday, leading authorities to close schools in the vicinity and a key road connecting communities. Claudinne Ugalde, secretary of the disaster agency, said “some 30,000 people more or less are at risk in these three (jurisdictions) and we are trying to have them evacuate or self-evacuate,” she said. The biggest danger from the volcano are lahars, a mixture of ash, rock, mud and debris, that can bury entire towns. A 2018 eruption killed 194 people and left another 234 missing.