Deadly volcano on brink of eruption.

Popocatepetl Volcano Shows Signs of Massive Eruption

The Popocatepetl volcano, one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, located 34 miles southeast of Mexico City, has raised its alert level to yellow phase three, one step below a red alert. This volcano threatens 25 million people within range of an eruption. A yellow phase three alert level is triggered when the volcano shows “significant explosions of increasing intensity that shoot fragments (of rock) over considerable distances.”

On Saturday, the airports in Mexico City and Puebla temporarily halted flights because of ash spewed from the volcano. Mexican national Civil Defense Coordinator Laura Velázquez said, “There is no risk to the population at this time,” claiming that the recent activity had been superseded in the past 20 years.

Popocatepetl, which is Aztec for “smoking mountain,” had lain dormant for decades before it awakened in 1994 spewing gas and ash as far as 16 miles away by the winds. Prior to that eruption, the last explosion occurred in 1947. In December 2000, Popocatepetl roared with the biggest eruption in 1200 years; 30,000 people had to be evacuated.

A scientific advisory committee stated that a “high-risk” zone existed within a 15-kilometer radius from the volcano’s central axis; a “medium-risk” zone existed between 30 to 60 kilometers away, and a “low-risk” zone existed between 60 to 90 kilometers away.

The Popocatepetl volcano, reputedly 730,000 years old, is the second-highest peak in Mexico; Citlaltépetl is roughly 500 feet higher. It is the second-highest volcano in North America; Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, soars roughly 30,000 feet over the ocean floor.

Precautionary Measures

• Six cameras have been placed around its 1,300 ft × 2,000 ft summit, along with a thermal imaging device and 12 seismological monitoring stations.
• 13 scientists keep a 24-7 watch on the volcano.
• On Monday, in-person classes in parts of three states were canceled.

The Mauna Kea volcano on the island of Hawaii is the tallest mountain on Earth if you measure its height from its bottom on the ocean floor; it rises to a height of over 33,000 feet.