Shadow of fear over volcano town

Published on Saturday 16 August 2008 19:51

IN THE desolate silence of a once vibrant, now abandoned town, the volcano still roars.

Three months after erupting, for what scientists say they believe was the first time in 9,370 years, the Chaiten volcano continues to threaten to coat the once picturesque town of the same name below with volcanic ash.

The after-effects of the eruption in May destroyed half of the town of 5,000 residents. Uncertainty remains about when and if they will ever be able to return to the tranquil seaside life they cherished.

The issue of what to do with the displaced has become a major problem for Chilean officials, and Chaiten, tiny though it may be, has alerted them to the need to better understand the threats posed by hundreds of potentially active volcanoes in the country.

On May 2, the Chaiten volcano burst into activity, spewing hot gases and ash some 12 miles into the sky. Most residents fled when scientists warned that the volcano could be heading towards an eruption on the scale of Mount Vesuvius.

A Vesuvius-like explosion seems unlikely now, said Charles Stern, a professor of geology at the University of Colorado, who specialises in geochemical evolution and volcanism in Central and South America. In May he alerted the Chilean authorities that such an explosion could happen.

The volcano was pushing ash and smoke only about two miles up into the sky on Friday, according to Jorge Munoz, a volcano expert at Chile's Geology and Mining Service. He said yesterday that the number of temblors recorded in the past 10 days averaged 10 a day, compared with 200 to 300 a day at the end of last month.

But slow lava has created a new dome that could plug the vent and lead to another explosion, he warned.

"It is very difficult to say when this is going to stop," Munoz said. "There is less material being emitted, but the volcano could reactivate at any moment."

While the initial eruption spared the town, two weeks later the river that runs alongside it, swollen with volcanic material and winter rain, overflowed its banks, dumping trees and mud over half of Chaiten.