The latest bulletin from the Chilean Government Emergencies Office ONEMI reports that eruptive activity continues at Chaitén volcano, with the sky darkened by ash and a constant fall of fine ash in nearby areas. A sulphurous smell has been reported in some districts. A number of earthquakes have also been experienced in the region over the past 24 hours.

In the same bulletin ONEMI also reports that the evacuation of Chaitén is continuing, with the aim being to evacuate the whole population: ‘From yesterday to dawn today a total of 3900 people have been evacuated by sea from Chaitén to Puerto Montt and Castro, which corresponds to 89% of the population … Today approximately 500 people will be evacuated on six vessels bound for Castro and Puerto Montt. This will evacuate the entire population of Chaitén’. Sergio Galilea, Intendant of Los Lagos Region, in which Chaitén is situated, called the town un pueblo fantasma, a ‘ghost town’, in an interview with El Mercurio: ‘By sea 3 thousand people have been evacuated and by road another thousand people, so about 4 thousand people have been evacuated from the Chaitén area, leaving a sort of ghost town’.

AFP reports that the volcano is still ‘erupting ashes’ and covering the surrounding districts ‘with a dense cloud of ash more than 20km in height … In Chaitén, the streets are covered with 20-40cm of ash’. The fall of ash from Chaitén is also causing problems in neighbouring areas of Argentina, where airports and schools have been closed, transport disrupted and water supplies affected. National Meteorological Service ash alerts have been issued for the north-west, north-east and central regions of Chubut province, and southern Neuquén, northern Santa Cruz and western Río Negro provinces. The Argentine press agency DERF reports that in response to the ‘rain of ash’ the Argentine Environment Secretary Romina Picolotti is travelling to the city of Esquel in north-western Chubut ‘to co-ordinate national aid, on the orders of President Cristina Kirchner’. In Esquel itself the mayor has been seeking to reassure the population, saying that while the ash fall ‘brings various inconveniences’ the situation is ‘not very grave’, and the ash is ‘not toxic’.

For all our Chaitén coverage: Chaitén << The Volcanism Blog

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Chaitén – summary information for Chaitén (1508-41)
Oficina Nacional de Emergencia – Chilean government emergencies office (Spanish)
SERNAGEOMIN – volcanology information from the Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Chile (Spanish)

News
El Chaitén sigue en erupción y continúa el plan de evacuación masiva – AFP, 3 May 2008 (Spanish)
Intendente Galilea: ‘Chaitén es un pueblo fantasma’ – El Mercurio, 3 May 2008 (Spanish)
Alerta por presencia de cenizas en regiones del sur argentino – Rio Negro On Line, 3 May 2008 (Spanish)
Chubút: Picolotti viaja a Esquel para coordinar la ayuda de la Nación – DERF, 3 May 2008 (Spanish)
Intendente de Esquel dice que la situación ‘no es de extrema gravedad’ – La Voz, 3 May 2008 (Spanish)
Variados sismos han afectado a Chaitén en las últimas horas – 123 Chile, 3 May 2008 (Spanish)
Thousands evacuated as Chile volcano spews ash – Reuters, 3 May 2008
Thousands flee as Chilean volcano erupts – Daily Telegraph, 3 May 2008
In pictures: Chile volcano erupts – BBC News, 3 May 2008