MEXICO CITY, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Mexico has lowered the alert
level for the Popocatepetl volcano near Mexico City four months
after the simmering giant raised the alarm when it began spewing
red-hot fragments of rock.
The National Center for Disaster Prevention said on Saturday
it had cut the warning level to yellow phase two from yellow
phase three after emergency services concluded there was now no
imminent danger for people outside the 7.5-mile (12-km) radius
of an exclusion zone around Popocatepetl’s crater.
The center last raised the alert level on April 16.
Thereafter, heightened activity by the 17,900-foot (5,450-meter)
volcano prompted nearby schools to be shut on some days and the
brief closure of the city of Puebla’s airport.
Lying some 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast of Mexico City,
Popocatepetl has belched smoke and ash sporadically over the
last few years. A big eruption in 2000 forced the evacuation of
nearly 50,000 residents in three states surrounding the volcano.
Although the alert has been lowered, the volcano could still
suddenly start churning up more smoke and rock again, and
authorities need to stay watchful, the Interior Ministry said.
The new alert level for the volcano, often known as “Popo,”
is the fourth-highest warning on the center’s seven-step scale.
(Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Eric Beech)
