Guatemala volcano eruption sparks pyroclastic flow – the phenomenon that DESTROYED Pompeii
GUATEMALA’s Fuego volcano has claimed the lives of at least 25 people with many more injured and thousands of others forced to evacuate as a result of fast-moving pyroclastic flows – but what does the term mean?
He said: “The cause of most deaths at the current eruption of Fuego (Guatemala) is being widely reported as a 'river of lava'.
“This is probably an inexpert description or a mistranslation.
This is the phenomenon that claimed many lives during the famous AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii
“The videos and still images that I've seen suggest instead one or more pyroclastic flows.
“This is when a violently erupted mass of rock fragments and hot gas finds itself too dense to rise as an ash column, and instead cascades down the volcano's slopes.”
This is the phenomenon that claimed many lives during the famous AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii
Professor Rothery said pyroclastic flows could move at speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour, and were hot enough to glow like molten lava.
He added: “They can travel further, as well as much faster, than lava flows.
“This is the phenomenon that claimed many lives during the famous AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii.”
Professor Rothery said Fuego had been erupting since 2002, and was continuously active in 2017.
Guatemala: Ash fills sky as residents flee erupting volcano
On May 17, a 25 metre wide lahar, or volcanic mudflow, poured down the mountain, and there were explosions and ash plumes from May 19-21.
A statement carried on the website of the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala (Insuvumeh) warned: “It should be taken into account that the deposits of pyroclastic flows have filled the ravines and that the rain of this winter season is copious large lahares will be generated which can overflow villages and hamlets in the south, southwest and southeast and affect populations that were not affected now.”
Fuego is located less than 30 miles from Guatemala’s capital, Guatemala City.
Apart from the most recent phase of activity, a total of 56 eruptions have been recorded since 1581.