Cerro Hudson volcano (Southern Chile): new eruption

An eruption has started at Cerro Hudson volcano in Chile. The activity comes from a new eruptive fissure located south of the summit with 3 vents that emit clouds of steam and some ash, rising to 5.5 km elevation.
The authorities are distributing face masks to the population to protect from breathing ash. So far, 128 persons are reported evacuated, while 4 persons refused to leave their homes. More evacuations in a radius of 45 km around the volcano are planned, and the highest alert has been declared for the communities of Aysén, Río Ibáñez and Chile Chico and the Región de Aysén region.
Compared to previous days, seismicity has decreased, Enrique Valdivieso, the director of SERNAGEOMIN told the El Diario de Aysen newspaper. A major concern remains the threat of lahars (mud flows), likely to affect the Río Sorpresa valley.

While the eruption at present is small in scale, it is possible, that this is only a precursory, phreatic phase of a larger eruption still to come. When magma rises towards the surface, overheated ground water often creates small to medium-sized explosions that precede the main phase of an eruption.

• All news about: Hudson volcano
• Information about: Hudson volcano

• Volcán Hudson se mantiene en erupción menor con presencia de cenizas (El Diario de Aysen)
• Aumenta actividad en volcán Hudson y extreman tareas para evacuar a lugareños (La Tercera)

Hudson volcano (Chile): eruption warning, increased seismic activity and evacuations

Another volcano in Southern Chile, Mt Hudson in the Aysén region, could be close to a new eruption. Starting on Tuesday, over 100 earthquakes have been detected under the volcano by the National Institute of Geology (SERNAGEOMIN), who raised the alert level to Red ("eruption could be imminent").
The Chilean government has already evacuated over 100 residents living within 25 miles of the Hudson volcano.
Eruptions of Hudson volcano are typically highly explosive and although the area is sparsely populated, pose a serious risk of pyroclastic flows, ash falls, and mud flows generated by melting of the ice and snow present on the slopes of the massive volcano. The last eruption in 1991 was Chile's second largest in the 20th century.

• All news about: Hudson volcano
• Information about: Hudson volcano

• Reporte Especial Nº23 Actividad Volcánica REGIÓN DE AYSÉN: Volcán Hudson (26 Oct 2011) (SERNAGEOMIN's latest bulletin about Hudson volcano) (Spanish)
• Alerta por actividad sísmica del volcán Hudson (El Periódico Austral newspaper, Spanish)