Chileans Evacuate As Chaiten Volcano Erupts

[Mark]

Chile's Chaiten volcano continued to erupt on Wednesday, a day after the remaining residents of the seaside town of Chaiten fled their homes. About 150 people were evacuated from the foot of the 27-hundred-foot volcano last week as an explosion rocked the dome and sent volcanic material down the mountain's slope.

On Tuesday night, the remaining residents fled their homes following more explosions. In May last year Chaiten was devastated when the nearby volcano of the same name erupted for the first time in nine-thousand years on May 2. The town was covered in ash and damaged by flooding from the ash-choked Blanco River.

The village's five-thousand inhabitants were relocated and nearly two-thousand families received financial assistance. Local media reported on Tuesday that the town's mayor, Pedro Vasquez, and the government had agreed on a site for the town's relocation following last year's devastation.

The town will be rebuilt in the commune of Santa Teresa, located six miles north of Chaiten. Residents opposed to the move in recent weeks staged protests in the town's ruins, amid houses buried under ash and volcanic mudflows.


Source: CBS

[puretravel]

Amazing photo from the Chaiten volcano, although a little scary!