Calbuco Volcano Eruption
(IN PHOTO) Smoke and ash rise from the Calbuco volcano as seen from the city of Puerto Montt, April 22, 2015. The Calbuco volcano in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometres into the sky. Reuters

The Chilean government ordered the evacuation of residents within a six-mile radius of Calbuco Volcano which erupted on Wednesday. The eruption, the first time for Calbuco in more than 50 years, resulted in stunning views of a giant funnel of ash and lava spewed into the sky near the city of Puerto Montt.

It is the second volcanic eruption in Chile, following the March 3 eruption of Villarica Volcano, reports NBC. Calbuco is located 600 miles south of capitol Santiago.

Reports said that 1,500 people were evacuated. They came from three nearby towns which were placed on red alert following the eruption that occurred on Earth Day.

Since Chile is on the Pacific Rim of Fire, it has the second-largest chain of volcanoes in the world next to Indonesia. About 500 of the volcanoes in Chile are potentially active. The 6,500-feet high Calbuco is one of the three most potentially dangerous volcanoes in Chile.

Alejandro Verges, emergency director of the Los Lagos region, admits they were caught by surprise since Calbuco was not even being observed for possible eruption. Its last eruption was in 1961, according to the Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Project.

There are no reports so far of injuries or deaths because of the eruption or if flights are affected by the ash plume.

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