Status:
Yellow, Phase 2.
- Webcams de Mexico has live webcams, which are free but not embeddable
- Current CENAPRED report (Spanish).
- Hazard map (Spanish)
- Washington VAAC page.
- Puebla Civil Protection (Twitter)
- Mexico City Secretaría de Gestión Integral de Riesgos y PC (Twitter)
- GVP page.
Update, June 6, 2023, 11:41 a.m., Pacific: Yay!
Per this morning’s CENAPRED bulletin, browser translated:
June 06, 11:30 h (June 06, 17:30 GMT) The Volcanic Alert Traffic Light returns to AMARILLO PHASE 2
The National Coordination of Civil Protection, reported that based on the recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Committee (CCA) of the National Civil Protection System for the Popocatépetl volcano, the decision was made to return the Volcanic Alert Traffic Light to the Yellow Level Phase 2.
The ACC held its 81st extraordinary meeting yesterday, declared in permanent session, to analyze the recent behavior of the volcano. It was assessed that from February 2023 several of the parameters that are monitored increased, until on May 19 an episode of larger-scale activity was recorded, accompanied by the continuous emission of incandescent fragments and ash. This supported the committee’s recommendation to raise the level of the Volcanic Alert Traffic Light to Yellow Phase 3 on May 21.
The observations of the last days show that the activity has presented a slight decrease in some of the monitored parameters, activity that manifests itself with some emissions with low ash content and expulsion of incandescent fragments in smaller volume, associated with some episodes of tremor of low to moderate amplitude, as well as minor sporadic explosions. The frequency and intensity of exhalations have shown a slight decrease, as has the number of volcanotectonic earthquakes recorded.
The manifestations observed in this episode, which began in September 2022, can be related to a slow rise of magmatic material through the internal conduits of the volcano. To date, no accelerated growth in the parameters monitored has been detected; However, it is considered that the process related to slow movements of magma inside the volcano is not over.
Consequently, the committee concluded that the most likely scenario in the short term is for activity to remain fluctuating. That is, there may be slight increases or decreases in the overall activity of the volcano.
Therefore, it is not ruled out that in the coming days or weeks an activity characterized by the occurrence of tremors of high or low frequency and variable amplitude, some explosions of less than moderate size and ash emissions may be observed; as well as the expulsion of incandescent fragments within the exclusion radius of 12 kilometers. The occurrence of lahars (mudflows) that go down the ravines could also be expected, due to the accumulation of ash on the slopes and its interaction with the rains expected in the coming weeks.
In yesterday’s CCA session, based on the diagnosis of recent general activity and the expected scenarios in the short term, it recommended lowering the level of the Volcanic Alert Traffic Light from Yellow Phase 3 to Yellow Phase 2. However, given the possibility that some monitoring parameters show increases in the coming weeks, it could be recommended to raise the traffic light level again. The National Center for Disaster Prevention will maintain permanent monitoring of the general activity of the volcano and the CCA will continue with its constant assessment…
I will leave this post pinned for a while, in case Don Goyo gets restless again, but won’t be doing daily updates unless something major happens.
Earlier posts:
Featured image Popocatépetl in early 2019, by Puebla Civil Protection (Spanish)
Flight To Wonder 