A drone from the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR) has flown over the crater of the Popocatépetl volcano to monitor the activity of the last few hours. The National Civil Protection Coordination has maintained, in its latest information bulletin this Thursday afternoon, the yellow traffic light, phase 3, of the alert and has instructed the population to maintain precautions. According to the report, Popocatépetl continued to present a tremor signal (the continuous seismic signal that records volcanic activity) “whose amplitude continues to decrease,” without registering new explosions.
In the images recorded by the SEMAR drone, Popocatépetl can be seen continuously spewing large columns of steam and ash. In addition, the camera’s temperature technology makes it possible to distinguish some deposits of incandescent material and concentrations of heat inside the colossus.
According to information from monitoring systems, in the last 24 hours, 19 exhalations accompanied by water vapor, volcanic gases and ash were detected. There were 1,089 minutes of high-frequency tremors, of low to moderate amplitude and a continuous emission of gas, water vapor and ash.
Some 7,000 soldiers have been mobilized to the States of Puebla, Morelos and Mexico in case an evacuation of the surrounding population is necessary. Classes have been suspended in 40 municipalities and a security perimeter of 12 kilometers around the volcano has been established. Scientists call for calm: this episode is not unique, it has happened many times before and what recent history suggests is that the volcano will stabilize, without a dramatic eruption, at a high level of activity and ash emission.
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