by Matt Malinowski

Patagonia Times

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Saturday warned that towns surrounding Region X’s Chaitén Volcano, which has been in constant eruption since May 2, might become permanently unlivable. Bachelet's remarks came after the National Geologic and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) delivered her an ominous report putting the possibility of the volcano's collapse above 50 percent.

Photo: Ash from eruption devastates surrounding area. (by Victor Gonzalez, Partido Humanista)

“There are experts who say that lava from the Chaitén Volcano could flow directly towards the town of Chaitén,” said Bachelet. “These experts are recommending that the town of Chaitén never be inhabited again.”

SERNAGEOMIN vulcanologist Luis Lara first disclosed on Thursday that the volcano could implode, thus releasing a streatm of red-hot pyroclastic material (burning gas and rock) capable of destroying everything in its path. Pyroclastic flows are rapid currents of hot gas and rock that can escape from a volcano crater and travel downhill toward surrounding areas.

The Chilean daily La Tercera reported on Sunday that a SERNAGEOMIN study had put the odds of such a collapse as at least 50 percent. The document said that there was increased build-up in the dome of magma currently covering the volcano's crater. Futhermore, the material accumulating in the area was “highly dense,” and thus more prone to collapse. SERNAGEOMIN said that any implosion would cause complete destruction of everything within a 15 kilometer radius around the peak, an area which encompasses Chaitén, Santa Barbara, and several rural farming villages.

Bachelet, who had returned on Friday to the area affected by the eruption, acknowledged this threat while touring the town of Palena.

“The people (who live in the area around the volcano) represent our top priority right now,” Bachelet said. “This tremendous column of burning rock and magma could reach speeds of between 100 and 400 kilometers per hour. At that rate, it could reach the town of Chaitén in six minutes.”

Still, Bachelet said that not all scientists agreed on the possibility of such an event, adding that some officials had even suggested that local communities covered in ash by the volcano blasts could be fully functional within a few years.

“We have never had a situation quite like this in Chile,” she said.

The eruption, Chaitén’s first in recorded history, released a massive billow of ash that was visible as far away as Puerto Montt, some 200 kilometers to the north. Volcanic soot began to rain down, blanketing Chaitén and other area towns such as Futaleufú, and contaminating local water supplies.

The volcanic activity intensified between Tuesday and Thursday as authorities reported seeing lava emanating from the volcano’s crater. The natural disaster prompted government officials to order the mandatory evacuation of local residents and all emergency workers within 50 kilometers of the volcano (ST, May 8).

More than 12,000 civilians were evacuated by week's end, including a few dozen residents holed up in Chaitén and Santa Barbara. The Agriculture Ministry had also initiated plans to rescue most of the 40,000 cows, sheep, and other livestock in nearby towns.

Still, the Region X Governor's Office issued a decree preventing animal rights organizations from traveling to Chaitén in order to rescue an estimated 600 pets, mostly horses, dogs and cats. As of Sunday, local animal activists said that they were preparing legal arguments in order to have the decision overturned. Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Human Society had announced plans to send a team to Chaitén, described as “a city overtaken by dogs.” Meanwhile, more than 600 pets in Futaleufú were being successfully aided by volunteers.

By Matt Malinowski (editorATsantiagotimes.cl)

http://www.patagoniatimes.cl/content/view/501/1/

www.standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Earth_Changes/080514.Chile.unlivable.html

********************************************

Chaiten renders parts of Chile unlivable

ORIGINAL CAPTIONS: This astonishing picture shows the Chaiten volcano erupting during storms in the middle of the night. As clouds of toxic ash and dust tower into the sky, they ionise the air, generating an explosive electrical storm. Colossal forks of lightning spark around the noxious plume as it spews from the volcano's crater, creating an image of raw, terrifying energy - as if the air itself were ablaze. Now, the worst-case scenario is the collapse of the volcano accompanied by a "pyroclastic flow" - a devastating super-eruption of scorching dense gas and molten rock that would roll down the mountainside at 100mph or faster, incinerating and flattening all in its wake. (UPI / Caralos Guitierrez).

www.standeyo.com/NEWS/08_Pics_of_Day/080514.pic.of.day.b.html