1000 people evacuated after Colombia volcano erupts

[struggle4progress]

OGOTA — A thousand people were evacuated and traffic was stopped after the Galeras volcano erupted in southern Colombia without causing casualties, officials said Saturday.

The locals were taken to shelters in Pasto, the capital of Narino department on the border with Ecuador, after authorities put the volcano -- the most active in Colombia -- on red alert to signal an imminent or ongoing eruption.

Some 9,000 people live in the vicinity of the volcano, which erupted at 8:37 pm Friday (0137 GMT Saturday), will be forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in temporary accommodations if the alert is prolonged, the Colombia Institute of Geology and Mining (Ingeominas) said.

Narino Government Secretary Fabio Trujillo, whose office coordinates volcano prevention, evacuation and relief efforts, told local radio that traffic restrictions would be imposed on the highway linking Pashto -- 920 kilometers (570 miles) -- to localities close to Galeras ...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jGUmRXWf5g5_kl2HRByAMA1-XZLw

[Go2Peace]

1. So see, that Columbian Paramilitary leader was only running away from the lava

when he accidently ended up in Venezuela. I knew there was a logical explaination! ;)

[Peace Patriot]

2. LOL! Wrong gender, though. It was a woman--Magaly Janeth Moreno Vega--

and what she was doing in Venezuela--particularly in that region (Venezuela's main oil region, adjacent to Colombia, where fascist politicians openly talk of secession, when they aren't stuffing their off-shore accounts with USAID money)--is a good question. Not that I favor torture or anything, but I hope Venezuela gets some answers before they extradite her to Colombia. This is one very highly connected spy, it appears to me.

[imdjh]

3. "volcano prevention"? Gotta love South America