Date: 31-May-10
Country: GUATEMALA
Author: Sarah Grainger
Guatemala's Pacaya volcano belched columns of black ash on Friday, a day after a powerful eruption killed at least one person, forced hundreds of families to evacuate and shut the international airport.
The volcano, 25 miles south of Guatemala City, erupted on Thursday, raining thick ash and small rocks on the capital, coating the streets in a layer of gritty black sand. Store owners and residents hosed down their driveways and shoveled heaps of ash and rubble off rooftops and sidewalks.
A television journalist reporting from the slopes of the volcano died from head wounds on Thursday when he was hit by falling lava rocks, police spokesman Donald Gonzalez told reporters.
President Alvaro Colom told a news conference late on Thursday that three children aged 7, 9 and 10 were missing after the eruption. Guatemala's Prensa Libre daily reported three dead, including the journalist, but police could not confirm the report.
All flights out of Guatemala City were canceled due to the volcanic sand on the runways.
"We'll need a minimum of two more days but we've also received news from the meteorologists .... that the volcano erupted again and the ash hasn't arrived here yet," acting director of civil aviation Felipe Castaneda told Reuters.
"We're worried about two situations: the ash on the runway and the particles in the air."
In villages near Pacaya -- which is normally in a state of low-level eruption and often emits a slow-moving stream of lava that attracts tourists -- nearly 2,000 people were evacuated on Thursday evening and Friday morning. About 600 people spent the night on foam mattresses in municipal buildings and a church.
Pacaya's eruptions usually last about six hours, but volcanologists said the one on Thursday was its strongest blast in more than a decade and activity could continue over the next few days. They measured plumes of ash reaching almost 5,000 feet above the volcano's peak.
"We've never seen anything like this. ... You could hear the explosions of the volcano, and stones that were still on fire were falling, big stones, and many people were scared," said Nestor Sican, who lives in Amatitlan, a town close to the volcano.
COFFEE TREES COVERED IN ASH
Pacaya, which is close to the colonial town of Antigua and farms where some of Guatemala's highest-quality coffee is grown, has been continuously active since the 1960s but had not showered rocks and ash since 1998.
Anacafe, Guatemala's coffee producers' association, said it was gathering information from growers around the volcano to assess whether there had been any damage to crops.
Felipe Guzman, a coffee farmer and Anacafe board member said the rainy weather could help clean ash-covered coffee trees.
"It has been raining because of a tropical depression off the Pacific coast of Guatemala, which has helped wipe away the sand from the leaves, but it hasn't cleaned everything," Guzman said. "I hope it keeps raining."
Colom declared a state of emergency for the area around the volcano and civil aviation authorities closed Guatemala City's La Aurora international airport as a thick layer of sand covering the runways made takeoffs and landings hazardous.
Airport staff worked to clear runways and officials would decide later on Friday if the airport can be reopened, said Monica Monje of Guatemala's aviation authority.
(Editing by Peter Cooney)
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