Volcanoes in Chile and Mexico shaken by explosive ash eruptions

March 2015 – CHILE - A steady stream of smoke and ash leaking from the Villarrica volcano has residents of a nearby town wondering if – or when – disaster might strike. Chilean officials raised threat levels to orange on Wednesday due to increasing signs of activity in the 2840-meter tall volcano, leaving area residents fearful of an eruption. ‘No one can sleep peacefully because the other day the eruption surprised us at 3 in the morning,’ said Francisco Valenzuela, a tour guide in the nearby resort town of Pucon. Many of the residents in towns and communities surrounding the volcano had to be evacuated earlier in the month, when lava and smoke erupted from the peak in the early hours of the morning.

‘It was spewing lava and ash hundreds of meters into the air,’ 29-year-old Australian tourist Travis Armstrong said. ‘Lightning was striking down at the volcano from the ash cloud that formed from the eruption.’ Adding to the threat of ash and lava, the peak is covered by a glacier cap and snow, causing some officials to worry the eruption could cause mudslides or force rivers to flood and jump their banks. –Daily Mail

Mexico: The volcano continues to produce sometimes strong vulcanian-type explosions that seem to have picked up in strength over the past days. An eruption at 03:08 am local time produced fountaining of lava several hundred meters high and appears to have caused a small pyroclastic flow. –Volcano Discovery