Chilean volcano prompts major evacuation

PUERTO MONTT, Chile, May 3 (UPI) -- Volcanic activity at a long-dormant volcano in southern Chile has prompted the evacuation of 2,000 people from area villages, officials say.

Chile's Emergency Bureau said after the Chaiten volcano began spewing ash and fire into the air this week, the Chilean Navy started evacuating nearby villages as a precaution, Mercopress reported Saturday.

The volcanic rumblings first began Thursday night. Government officials wasted no time in declaring a state of emergency for the Los Lagos region.

All residents within 10 miles of the volcano were tabbed for immediate evacuation on large barges that transported them across the Ancud Gulf.

Residents of nearby areas have also been provided with protective masks to avoid inhaling parts of the ash cloud the volcano has continued to spew forth, Mercopress said.

Following the activity, University of Colorado volcanology professor Charles Stern said the Chaiten volcano has "probably been dormant for about 9.000 or 10.000 years but that's not unusual."