Mexico has raised the alert to yellow stage three
MEXICO CITY: The National Disaster Prevention Centre (Cenapred) of Mexico has raised the alert to yellow stage three, the third highest level around the huge Popocatepetl volcano.
The volcano has begun spewing ash and steam. The schools around the volcano in the radius of 5,450m (17,900 foot) have been closed and evacuation shelters have been prepared as a precautionary measure.
The volcano is visible from the capital and lies around 70km (40 miles) from City. The alert could remains for weeks or months until the volcano’s activity diminished.
“We can hear the roar of the volcano, sometimes we can feel its force,” Concepcion Perez from the town of Xalitzintla in Puebla State, 12km (seven miles) from the volcano told the French news agency Agence France-Presse. Popocatepetl is the Mexico’s second-highest peak.
In 2000 a similar type of eruptions has caused evacuation of tens of thousands of people from nearby communities.
