 MEXICO
CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, which sprung to
life this week and forced 40,000 living around its base into public
shelters, could be recharging for further eruptions, experts said
on Friday.
Mexico's National
Disaster Prevention Center said the volcano could soon end days
of apparent calm with new explosions of molten rock.
``At this
time it is in a period of calm and rest as it recharges its energy,''
said Enrique Guevara, who monitors the volcanic activity of the
17,884-foot volcano.
``In the next
couple of days we expect some sort of explosive stage like the
one we saw a few days ago.''
Popocatepetl
(Poh-poh-kah-TEH-peh-til) exploded into violent activity late
on Monday, showering the night sky with flaming rocks and sand.
Similar explosions occurred early on Tuesday.
Since then,
only intermittent plumes of white smoke have risen from the snow-capped
mountain, 42 miles from Mexico City's urban sprawl of some 18
million residents.
The volcano,
known in the indigenous Nahuatl tongue as the ''smoking mountain'',
was revered by local communities before the 1521 Spanish conquest
and still looms large in people's minds.
Experts say
Popocatepetl's eruptions this week were among its most violent
in decades, possibly centuries.
The volcano
was dormant between 1927 and 1994, when it came back to life,
regularly sending smoke and ash plumes miles into the atmosphere.
One man died
of a heart attack during the volcano's first eruption on Monday
night but no other casualties or damage have been reported since
then.
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