By Elizabeth Fullerton
MEXICO CITY
(Reuters) - Mexico was on high alert for possible mudslides on
Wednesday as the snowcapped Popocatepetl volcano continued to
hurl molten rocks into the sky, with further eruptions possible
in the next 24 hours.
Some 30,000
residents from 18 surrounding villages were evacuated from their
homes on Tuesday, seeking refuge in 180 makeshift shelters, Eco
television reported.
Images from
an infrared camera broadcast by Televisa showed the volcano continuing
to throw a shower of rocks into the sky, accompanied by leaping
flames. Popocatepetl (pronounced poh-poh-kah-TEH-peh-til) lies
on the border of central Puebla, Mexico and Morelos states, 42
miles from Mexico City.
Mexican authorities,
fearing that a roughly 3,000-foot-long glacier on the volcano's
western face could become dislodged by molten rock and cause massive
mudslides, have expanded an emergency zone to 12.5 miles from
7.5 miles.
``We are on
maximum alert ... because we have to be ready for any possible
contingency regarding the glacier,'' Interior Minister Santiago
Creel told a news conference on Tuesday.
In a later
briefing, Creel said the volcano was spouting rocks two miles
into the sky but without any lava spillage for the time being
and that people outside the restricted zone were safe.
So far, seven
flights to Mexico City have been canceled by United Airlines for
safety reasons, as well as two local flights to Puebla city, where
the airport is closed. Some 55 airlines were still operating normally,
according to national television.
Mexican President
Vicente Fox, in an interview with Televisa news on Tuesday night,
urged the population to remain calm, saying no one was in immediate
danger and that the 30,000 evacuees were well-attended by emergency
services and the army.
``Blankets,
drinking water, mattresses for everyone are guaranteed,'' said
Fox.
The government
would try to secure work for evacuees to ensure they were not
losing income during their displacement and books for children,
he added.
Creel said
another 18,000 people living in Puebla, Mexico and Morelos near
Popocatepetl would have to leave their homes.
Flaming rock
burst from the 17,884-foot high volcano at 2 a.m. (3 a.m. EST)
on Tuesday -- the second eruption in a few hours in what was the
volcano's most violent activity for decades -- perhaps centuries.
The rest of the day the volcano was stable, with activity intensifying
in the night.
Mexicans
Fear Eruptions Signify Ill Omen
Superstitious
Mexicans fear the eruptions could be an apocalyptic omen. The
volcano's latest phase of activity began in 1994 as former president
Ernesto Zedillo took office and preceded a disastrous peso devaluation
that plunged the economy into recession, from which it is only
now recovering.
In response
to the concerns, Onemismo Cepeda, bishop of Ecatepec in Mexico
state, reassured believers on television.
``As for the
world ending, no one knows when that will be. ... The only person
who does is the Father. And don't you worry about yourselves.
The world will end the day you die,'' he said.
The volcano,
known in indigenous Nahuatl language as ''smoking mountain'' and
revered as a divinity by local communities before the 1521 Spanish
Conquest, was inactive between 1927 and 1994. Since then it has
been increasingly active, sending up smoke and ash plumes.
Defiant Residents
Continue Festivities
Some local
residents living in the folds of the mountain preferred to stay
in their homes and risk possible mudslides.
In Santiago
Xalitzintla, just 7.5 miles from the crater, the Sandoval family
of nine defiantly attended a ``posada,'' or traditional Roman
Catholic pre-Christmas dinner, on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile,
local civic organizations arranged for clowns to entertain and
distract children in the shelters.
``I came with
my mother and my sisters. The volcano scared us, it was throwing
up fire,'' said Daniel, 10, whose family reluctantly moved to
a shelter on Tuesday night.
Residents
living near the volcano were ordered to abandon their homes on
Friday but many refused, agreeing to be evacuated only after the
latest eruptions. Some men were allowed to return home temporarily
to check on their livestock and houses.
Fox said evacuees
would not have to miss out on Christmas, even if they were still
not back in their homes by Christmas Eve.
``If we reach
Christmas, which is probable since this situation doesn't look
like ending soon, we'll have to arrange for Santa Claus to arrive
at the shelters,'' Fox said.
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