The director of Civil Protection, Luis Amaya, in a television interview, said that the entity has available shelters for the reception of people living near the volcano of San Miguel, due to its recent activity of degassing and launching of ashes into space.

The director pointed out that ‘they have made exercises to evaluate the evacuation speed and which are the best routes, and also the probable risk scenarios’, he emphasized.

If we have a much more powerful eruption, which goes from degassing to an eruption that already includes the expulsion of lava, explosions and even other types of material, then it is important for the population to know that we have considered different sceneries, he added.

The new situation formed by the volcano’s activity, more than two thousand meters high, keeps the locals of four municipalities of the department of San Miguel, (Chinameca, San Rafael Oriente, San Miguel and San Jorge) on alert since the beginning of the week when the expelling of gases and ashes began.

The day before, the Minister of Environment, Fernando López, assured that for the moment there are no indications of an explosion of greater magnitude, but called the inhabitants to be alert in case of any change in the behavior of the colossus.

So far, and as a preventive measure, the Ministry of Education closed schools in five municipalities near the mountain due to the emergency.

In its most recent activation, from November 15 to 30, 2022, Chaparratique registered 194 explosions, with an average of 12 per day and a height of ashes and gases that hovered between 500 and 1,100 meters.

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