Popocatepetl, Mexico Volcano, Spews Ash

Incandescent materials, ash and smoke are spewed from the Popocatepetl Volcano as seen from the Santiago Xalitxintla, in the Mexican central state of Puebla, on April 20, 2012. (YURI CORTEZ/AFP/GettyImages)

MEXICO CITY, May 10 (Reuters) - An ash cloud from a Mexican volcano on Thursday forced the suspension of flights to and from the international airport of Puebla, a major city southeast of Mexico City.

The government of Puebla state, of which the city is the capital, said local authorities had ordered the airport to close and would review the situation again around midday.

Mexico last month raised the alert level for the volcano Popocatepetl, which lies some 50 miles (80 km) southeast of the capital, after it began pumping out red-hot fragments of rock and ash.

The country has been closely monitoring the 5,450 meter (17,900 foot) volcano, which has prompted school classes in nearby villages to be suspended on days of higher activity.

The airport in Puebla also closed for several hours late on Tuesday due to the concentration of ash billowing out of Popocatepetl. German carmaker Volkswagen's Mexican operations are based in Puebla. (Reporting by Veronica Gomez and Lorne Matalon; Editing by Paul Simao)

Comments

[beekeeper]

04:22 PM on 05/12/2012

I don't see this as sad. Mother Earth does what she does. We tend to build crap where it floods, burns, shakes or spews...... humans are no match for this beautiful earth.

[Ayesha Khan]

03:58 PM on 05/11/2012

A very sad news, no doubt Mexico has been under pressure for a long time and now this calamity, but there is nothing one can do about it, an act of God. But i pray that those who have been afflicted by this misery my have enough patience to bear the loss.And who knows that all those who are mocking at this adversity might face a worse one than this.It is beyond the dignity of a human to make a jest of those who are less fortunate---but who knows in the end who is less fortunate--------

[Kenz300]

02:51 PM on 05/11/2012

Seems like a good place for geothermal energy production.

[Canefighter]

12:06 PM on 05/11/2012

I wonder if the tree huggers or the save the earth people will form a protest against the volcano for air pollution and causing global warming.

[Heather Robles]

10:01 AM on 05/11/2012

I live near this Volcano about 11 miles away. The ash is so bad this morning it looks like snow is falling! Its hard to breath.

[Arturo Ramrez]

11:36 AM on 05/11/2012

Use a mask and avoid staying outside, sweep your rooftop every other day, if possible, I'd suggest relocating, I doubt that there will be a dangerous explosion any time soon, but the ashes can have pretty damaging effects on the lungs (sort of like inhaling asbestos). By any chances, do you live in Cholula?

[Heather Robles]

12:11 PM on 05/11/2012

Yes Arturo i live in Cholula. The Tepontla area. I wear a mask all the time as i have asthma. I have been sick since the first puff came out a month or more ago. We are far away enough to not be in any immediate danger but you are right the effects of the ash are harsh! You know Cholula?

[Micheal Frisbie]

09:06 AM on 05/11/2012

flights suspended while volcano spews ash... sounds like our congress.

[tannervin]

12:58 AM on 05/11/2012

Scary... I hope they have evacuation plans in place. Than volcano has spewed lahar for miles in the past.

[plans includingdog]

07:13 PM on 05/10/2012

This volcano is near a city of 18 million people.It is not a normal volcano.It has had stroong eruptions in its past.It is a danger.

[Feliciano Leon]

09:12 PM on 05/10/2012

And, what is a normal volcano?

[plans includingdog]

09:34 PM on 05/10/2012

It is normal except not all volcanoes have 18 million people nearby.

[beekeeper]

04:23 PM on 05/12/2012

An ant hill?

[mexicadream]

03:22 AM on 05/11/2012

this has been an active volcano for hundreds of years. it is well documented in Mexica(aztec) history of eruptions. Just like any volcano....it's gonna blow

[sdmartintc]

06:48 PM on 05/10/2012

It's not climate change; it's not the Mayan or Biblical prophecy about the end of the world. It's just normal volcanic activity from a normally active volcano, which Earth has dozens of.

[palindrom]

07:11 AM on 05/11/2012

Exactly. They do tend to do this kind of thing, and there's not necessarily any particular reason for it except for magma moving around.