Residents in southern Chile and Argentina have begun digging their homes out from under a cover of ash that settled over the region after Chile's Calbuco volcano erupted Wednesday and again early Thursday morning. The eruptions, the volcano's first since 1972, spewed a plume of ash and smoke more than 12 miles into the sky.
Thursday's eruption produced some stunning nighttime images of Calbuco surrounded by smoke, fire and lighting. The Chilean government established a 12-mile evacuation radius around the volcano and about 5,000 people have left the area so far.
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"There was a lot of panic, lots of chaos, traffic jams, people going to supermarkets, everyone looking for water, trying to take out money from the ATMs," one resident told CNN.
Take a look at some of the sobering photos below.
AP Photo/Federico Grosso
Leaves sit on ground covered by volcanic ash from Chile's Calbuco volcano in Villa La Angostura, southern Argentina, April 23, 2015. The volcano in Southern Chile erupted Wednesday after being dormant for almost half a century.
Martin Bernetti via Getty Images
A man removes volcanic ashes from his car in La Ensenada, Chile, April 23, 2015. Chile's Calbuco volcano erupted on Wednesday, spewing a giant funnel of ash high into the sky near the southern port city of Puerto Montt. It is the second volcano in southern Chile to have a substantial eruption since March 3, when the Villarrica volcano emitted a brief but fiery burst of ash and lava.
AP Photo/Federico Grosso
A girl looks through a window as volcanic ash from Chile's Calbuco volcano covers her garden in Villa La Angostura, southern Argentina, April 23, 2015. Due to the eruption the Chilean government has declared a state of emergency in the region surrounding the volcano, including the cities of Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, and handed over civil authority to the armed forces.
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AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo
The entrance of a house is covered with ash from the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 23, 2015.
AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo
A man sweeps volcanic ash deposited from the eruption of the Calbuco Volcano, from the roof of a house in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 23, 2015.
AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo
A man waits at a bus stop waiting to be evacuated on a street in the town of Ensenada, awash with ash from the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 23, 2015. Ensenada, in the foothills of the volcano, looked like a ghost town but for an occasional horse or dog roaming its only street. Most of its residents had evacuated after the initial eruption Wednesday, with only about 30 people refusing to leave out of worry for their homes and animals.
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AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo
A horse walks along a street covered with volcanic ash from the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 23, 2015. Twin blasts from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile sent vast clouds of ash into the sky, covering this small town with thick soot and raising concerns that the dust could contaminate water, cause respiratory illnesses and ground flights.
Martin Bernetti via Getty Images
Men remove ash from the roof of a house in La Ensenada, Chile. Southern Chile remained on alert Friday for another eruption from the Calbuco volcano after it burst into life in spectacular, fiery fashion for the first time in half a century, forcing 5,000 people to evacuate and lighting up the night sky.
AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo
A car passes through a road covered with ash from the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 23, 2015.
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AP Photo/Pablo Sanhueza Gutierrez
Men remove ash from a building's roof, left by the Calbuco volcano in Ensenada, Chile. The volcano erupted Wednesday for the first time in more than 42 years, billowing a huge ash cloud over a sparsely populated, mountainous area in southern Chile. The volcano is considered one of the top three most potentially dangerous among Chile's 90 active volcanoes.
AP Photo/Federico Grosso
A bus drives along an ash covered road in Villa La Angostura, in southern Argentina, April 23, 2015. The volcano erupted Wednesday afternoon for the first time in more than four decades, and then had another outburst early Thursday. No injuries are reported but one hiker remains missing.
AP Photo/Pablo Sanhueza Gutierrez
A woman holds a mask to her face as she stands with her belongings before evacuating the town of Ensenada, Chile, April 23, 2015.
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