Volcano Villarrica erupted on March 3, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes in southern Chile.
The eruption sent lava and ash as high as two miles above the volcano, but flights have, so far, not been interrupted by the blast. Since that original eruption, the volcano has continued to release gases and steam to the atmosphere.
"After an eruptive pulse, which was pretty intense but very short at 3 am (0600 GMT), the volcanic system remains unstable and it is possible that something similar could occur again in the next few hours," Luis Lara, the leader of Sernageomin, Chile's national geological service, said.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet held an emergency meeting with defense and police forces, in order to develop a plan to react to the eruption. The 63-year-old national leader will head to the area soon to meet with local officials.
According to the Chilean National Emergency Office which issued a red alert warning about the event, 3,385 people have been evacuated from regions around the volcano.
Chile is home to the second-largest chain of volcanoes in the world, after Indonesia. In all, around 500 hundred of these hot spots, located on the Pacific Rim of Fire, are currently active.
Volcano Villarrica is located 460 miles of Santiago, capital of the nation. The popular tourist destination of Pucon, a favorite of skiing enthusiasts, is near the geological feature. Surrounding the volcano are a network of lakes and a temperate rainforest.
Some mud flows, caused by snow melting during the eruption, ran down the slopes of the volcano, but did not result in significant damage.
"I've never seen a volcano erupt and it was spewing lava and ash hundreds of meters into the air. Lightning was striking down at the volcano from the ash cloud that formed from the eruption," Travis Armstrong, an Australian tourist to the region, said.
An eruption of the Chilean volcano Puyehue in 2011 resulted in flight delays and other disruptions in Argentina which lasted for several months.
Villarrica last erupted in the year 2000, and no major lava flows are expected from this current event. Material ejected from this latest eruption did not travel high enough into the air to result in significant interruptions to commercial flights.
Viewers anywhere in the world can watch Villarrica live on four Web cams pointed at the volcano.
For several weeks, geologists have been monitoring small quakes and other activities on the volcano, which provided warning of the upcoming blast. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries, so far, from the eruption.
Photo: Jennifer Morrow | Flickr
