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By Nathaniel and Emilio
Calbuco is a stratovolcano in Southern Chile, located southeast of Llanquihue Lake and northwest of Chapo Lake, in the Los Lagos Region. The volcano and the surrounding area are protected within Llanquihue National Reserve.
The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile has erupted twice in the span of a few hours. Calbuco last erupted in 1972 and is potentially one of the most dangerous volcanoes in Chile. About 23½ inches of ash fell in some places, according to the Ministry of Interior and Public Safety.
The situation is relatively calm right now, although people are understandably anxious about what could happen next. There are no reports of deaths, missing people or injuries.
“In this situation, with the eruption column so high, the main risk is that it collapses, falls due to gravity because of its own weight and causes a pyroclastic flow,” Gabriel Orozco, a volcanologist with Chile’s geological and mining service, said on local TV.
“It sounded like a big tractor trailer passing by the road, rattling and shaking, guttural rumbling … We left everything there, grabbed my kid, my dog, got in the car with my wife,” Moffat said. A pyroclastic flow is a superheated current of gas and rock that can destroy nearly everything in its path and travel at speeds upwards of 200 km to 300 km per
This situation could turn worse because of the pyroclastic flow. However, hopefully Chile will be fine.
