Avalanches fall from the Arenal Volcano

Taken from: www.nacion.com

Avalanches slid down from the slopes of the Arenal volcano this Tuesday June 16^th sometime around 4:30 PM and to the 4:35 PM. This motivated the national park personnel to evacuate 25 tourists. Carlos Álvarez, park ranger in this protected area, confirmed that there were a couple flows of piroclastic material.

It was also reported that ash fell in parking lot area. Piroclastic material is the name that is given to the clouds of ash or fragments of lava, that also include vapor or gases, which descend from the cone in the shape of avalanches.

Rebeca Madrigal, from the National Commission of Emergencies (CNE), declared that that it isn’t necessary to be in a state of alert and that the towns in the outskirts of the Arenal volcano are safe from any avalanches.

In April, the National Seismologic Network (NSN) notified that there existed some possibilities of lava flow and other activities in the volcano. Meanwhile, the Ovsicori ruled out yesterday that an eruption of ash had been produced in the Turrialba Volcano.

Experts from the National University rushed to the volcano after receiving a notification from a park ranger of the nearby Irazú Volcano. The notification alerted the authorities. Officials of Ovsicori and of the CNE displaced quickly to the Irazú and Turrialba Volcanoes.

The experts were afraid that the ash preceded an eventual eruption of great magnitude. In such case they would have to order the evacuation of hundreds of people; and also of cattle, because of the proximity to the volcano. Nevertheless, the events were not as suspected.