Concern about the activity of the Popocatépetl volcano changes depending on the direction in which the wind blows, which is what moves its ashes.
While to the east of the mountain residents swept the streets and wore masks, to the west they watched unfazed as gases and ash rose from the crater.
The mountain 5,425 meters high above sea level and about 70 kilometers southeast of Mexico City has had emissions for several days, which have covered towns and crops in the state of Puebla with a thin layer of ash.
“When he doesn’t do anything, we do worry,” said Viridiana Alba, who has sold flowers in Amecameca’s central plaza for 25 years. The volcano rises right in front of her post. “We know it’s putting out smoke, that’s releasing the energy from what it’s holding,” she said.
There are still ashes on the awning that protects its flowers. They fell during the past weekend, when the wind was against it and this city of about 50,000 inhabitants felt the tremors caused by the volcano. But as long as the ash remains low, she believes it will help her plants.
The winds have blown a huge column of ash to the east, over the states of Puebla and Veracruz, and eventually over the Bay of Campeche and beyond.
The National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) pointed out in its report on Tuesday that small lava domes continue to form inside the crater, which were being destroyed by small and moderate explosions.
The forecast was that residents of communities near the volcano may continue to feel these explosions for days and weeks to come.
On Sunday the authorities increased the alert level, although they assure that there is no risk at this time for the population.
Evacuations have not been ordered either, but the authorities have been drawing eviction routes, preparing shelters and thousands of soldiers are on alert in case they have to activate.
In Photos | Increased activity of the Popocatépetl volcano
The activity of the Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico has increased during the last week, causing evacuations in the surrounding area.
Right in the well-known Paso de Cortés, the small mountain road that crosses between the “Popo” and the other volcano next to it, the Iztaccíhuatl, which is not active, about twenty Civil Protection units and military personnel stood guard .
Traffic is already cut off and most of the cabins that normally cater to tourists and visitors are closed.
Cástula Sánchez, a 75-year-old woman who sells food on weekends, hopes that the volcano will calm down and tourists will return. She lives in a nearby community, San Pedro Nexapa, and lava from almost three decades ago reached a hillside near her home before they were evacuated but did not go any further.
In Amecameca, the police handed out flyers with information on preparations in case the volcano increases its activity. They recommend that the population have important documents on hand, keep vehicles with a full fuel tank, have face masks and towels available to moisten in case residents have to leave with little notice.
Most residents already know what to do, especially those who remember a 1997 eruption that “darkened the sky, you saw thunder… and rain of mud fell,” said former official Benítez.
“The pyroclastic cloud came to Amecameca and it was chaos, everyone wanted to get out at that moment and it was tremendous,” he added.
The only time Popocatépetl triggered a red alert on the government’s alarm system since it emerged from decades of inactivity in 1994 was in 2000. The volcano’s last major eruption occurred more than 1,000 years ago.
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