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Peru: New explosion at Ubinas volcano, ash spews into air

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Peru
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Govt. Peru
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Peru's Geophysical Institute (IGP) reported a new explosion at Ubinas volcano on Wednesday morning. The event took place at 5:51 AM (local time).

Via Twitter, the IGP said the explosion produced an ash column that reached a height of about 2,500 meters above the top of the massif, located in the southern Moquegua region.

On the matter, IGP expert Luisa Macedo affirmed that researchers are monitoring the volcanic behavior every single minute.

The expelled ash disperses to the south and southeast of Ubinas, towards the district of the same name and its attached territories.

For its part, the Volcanological Observatory at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute (Ingemmet) reported two explosions —one at 4:57 AM and the other at 5:52 AM— whose ash column reaches up to 1,500 meters high above the crater level and moves towards the south and southeast.

As a result of these events, fine ash fall has been recorded in the towns of Ubinas, Tonohaya, San Miguel, Anascapa, Huarina, Huatagua, and Matalaque.

The ash fall in Ubinas town was about one millimeter thick. There is a field brigade in the affected area collecting samples for analysis.

The IGP warned that volcanic ash can cause environmental problems and affect people's health.

In view of this situation, locals have been urged to protect their eyes with glasses and wear masks to prevent respiratory tract complications.

As a preventive measure, dust filter respirators and glasses have been distributed among children and elder citizens at the shelters in Anascapa, Tonohaya, San Carlos de Tite, Phara, and Sacohaya

Ubinas' eruption process started on July 19, followed by ash clouds that led experts to put the alert level at orange and obliged locals to evacuate the surrounding areas.

(END) MAO/RMB/MVB

Published: 9/4/2019