Guatemala.- The new eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano has left nearly 29,000 people affected and another 1,400 evacuated and sheltered, authorities said this Tuesday, who are on alert for the possibility of violent mudslides and incandescent rocks in the coming hours due to the forecast of rain in the volcanic chain.
The volcano, located 50 kilometers from the Guatemalan capital, “is in its most critical explosive phase, with pyroclastic flows reaching a distance of up to seven kilometers,” said the director of the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh), Edwin Rojas.
Guatemala’s Fuego volcano began constant explosive activity on Sunday that has been increasing with magma, gas columns, and ash fall, the latter dispersing at distances of up to 130 kilometers in the south and southwest direction of the volcanic cone, according to the latest reports.
Now, it is expected that the activity of the volcano, which is 3,763 meters high and the most active in Central America, could last another 72 hours.
You can also read: Dominican men’s volleyball team defeats Guatemala and will look to finish in fifth place
In addition, authorities warn that the risk in the volcanic zone could become complicated in the coming hours due to the arrival of two new easterly waves that will cause rain in the volcanic chain, which could trigger violent lahars or flows of mud and incandescent rocks through ravines.
More Read
The executive secretary of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), Claudinne Ogaldes, detailed that the emergency directly impacts 18 communities in the provinces of Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango, and Escuintla.
In those areas near the volcano, alert levels were raised from orange to red to evacuate families at risk to the five shelters set up by the municipalities.
Given this situation, the Ministry of Education decided to suspend in-person classes in the communities closest to the volcano, while the Ministry of Communications keeps the national route that crosses several towns on the slopes of the volcanic structure closed, to prioritize the passage of rescue teams and avoid personal tragedies.
More Read
The last significant eruption of the colossus was recorded on March 9, 2025, and the deadliest was on June 3, 2018, with a toll of 202 dead and at least 229 missing, in addition to thousands of dollars in material losses.
