Yesterday, 3 June, a brief but violent explosive eruption affected the Volcan de Fuego (Fire Volcano) south-west of Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala, causing the death of at least 25 people, numerous injuries and damage to inhabited. The eruption started just before 06:00 (local time), while the volcano was covered in clouds. The activity rapidly intensified, generating an eruptive column 10 km above sea level and pyroclastic flows, which reached distances of about 8 km from the crater, especially on the western, southern and eastern flanks of the volcano. The flows invaded a golf resort, the town of El Rancho and several roads on the southern slope. Volcanic ash fallout has affected a vast sector east of the volcano, also causing the closure of the airport in the capital, Guatemala City. The paroxysmal activity continued for several hours, decreasing in intensity in the afternoon, ending in the evening, after about 16 hours.
This eruption is the most recent and violent of a very long sequence of short paroxysmal episodes that began in 1999. There have been about 2015 since 30 alone. Generally these episodes are characterized by an average duration of less than 24 hours, with strong Strombolian activity a vulcaniana and intermittent lava fountains, emission of lava flows and production of pyroclastic flows. In the past there had already been eruptions both of longer duration (September 1977 - August 1979) but of modest intensity, and of short duration (from a few hours to several days) but highly explosive (1880, 1932, 1974). Yesterday's is certainly the most violent eruption, after that of 1974, and probably the most devastating in all of recorded history. The Fuego products are typically of basaltic composition and the marked explosivity of its eruptions is due to the high gas content of its magmas.
Volcan de Fuego is being studied by researchers from all over the world. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) has also carried out research on this volcano in the past to characterize its eruptive activity. In 2012, researchers from the HPHT Laboratory of Experimental Geophysics and Volcanology of INGV applied new observational techniques to measure the eruptive parameters during the explosions of Volcan de Fuego, using thermal and high-speed cameras (photographs and videos attached).
Photo 1 – Volcan de Fuego eruption of January 2012
Photo 2 – INGV researchers filming with high-speed and thermal cameras (January 2012)
Video - Volcan de Fuego eruption of January 2012
Authors of the photos/videos: P. Scarlato, E. Del Bello, D. Andronico (INGV)