Volcano erupts near Bogota

[Mark]

Colombia's Nevado del Huila volcano erupted in a shower of hot ash, prompting thousands of people to leave their homes on Tuesday.

The remote volcano, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, erupted shortly before midnight Monday and appeared less active at daybreak.

The extent of the eruption was not clear, but even minor eruptions could cause landslides and flooding by melting the snow and ice cap atop the 17,484-foot volcano, and authorities maintained a red alert for settlements near the volcano.

About 3,500 people were left home or were evacuated from villages susceptible to flooding of the Rio Paez, which descends from the volcano, said Carlos Marquez, national director the Red Cross, on radio Caracol.

Hundreds in the village of Belalcazar on the Rio Paez moved to high ground in the middle of the night after warning alarms sounded at the local police station.

Eruptions last year at the Nevado del Huila were its first on record since the mid-16th century.