Hundreds evacuated as Guatemalan volcano erupts
ESCUINTLA, GUATEMALA: Guatemalan authorities said Thursday they were evacuating more than 500 people after Central America's most active volcano spewed gas and ash.
Residents were moved to shelters from communities near the Fuego volcano, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital Guatemala City.
'We prefer to leave rather than mourn the death of everyone in the village later,' Celsa Perez, 25, told AFP.
The government suspended local school activities and closed a road linking the south of the country to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, disaster coordination agency Conred reported.
There have been several such mass evacuations in recent years because Fuego erupted, including in March of this year.
In 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when rivers of lava poured down the volcano's slopes, devastating a village.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Albania's incredible shrinking coastline
An aerial view taken in Durres on April 15, 2025 shows dikes built along the coast to curb coastal erosion. In Velipoja, waves are mercilessly attacking a pine forest that is gradually shrinking. It is another victim of the rising tides nibbling away more than half of Albania's coastline. — AFP ALBANIA's coast is being hit by a double whammy of climate change and chaotic tourist development. From Velipoja in the north where the waves are swallowing a century-old forest, to the tourist hotspot of Golem where galloping construction of hotels and restaurants is accelerating erosion, the country's often spectacular Adriatic coast is under threat. 'Out of Albania's 273km of coastline, some 154km are affected by erosion,' said urban planning specialist Besjana Shehu. Tourism in the Balkan nation is booming, from 5.1 million visitors in 2018 to 10.1 million in 2023. But new hotels, restaurants and beach bars are also taking their toll on nature. Rising sea level due to climate change is further complicating the situation. In Velipoja, a protected area close to the border with Montenegro, the sea is advancing more than 5m a year. It has already eaten 210m into the coastal forest, threatening an entire ecosystem that cannot live in salt water. Dozens of pine trunks lie strewn on the sand, many uprooted by violent storms recently. 'Velipoja Park is shrinking,' warned Agim Dardha, head of the protected areas agency for the Shkodra region. 'In the past 10 years alone it has lost more than 30ha,' he said. Franz Jozeph island at the mouth of the nearby Buna River still figures on the maps and tourist guides. But it actually vanished in 2012 after being swallowed by the sea. Named by Austrian cartographers in 1870 after Emperor Franz Joseph I, the island was made up of rich alluvial soil. A pine tree toppled by erosion on the coast of Kune. — AFP Located only 150m from the coast, its 19.5ha were covered with trees and wild vegetation. 'A paradise for many species of seabirds, a haven of peace for us too ... it is totally gone,' lamented Lule Coli, who runs a small beach bar nearby. But the construction of dams and hydroelectric power plants in the area hastened its death, said Ervis Krymi, geography professor at the Shkodra University. In Kune, a few kilometres further south, locals are also worried. There are more big storms every year and the shore now looks like a tree graveyard. 'As a result of climate change in recent years, the sea has become very aggressive, advancing towards the land at a frantic pace that exceeds all forecasts,' said Jak Gjini, an environment expert. In some areas it is pushing 20m inland every year, he added. Communist-era bunkers built along the coast in the 1970s have disappeared under the waves. But the storms also took small seaside bars run by locals. The force of the sea was so strong the sandbag barriers they put up were useless. 'There used to be two bunkers here. Now they're submerged,' said Vera Faslliaj, who runs a small restaurant called Poseidon, named after the Greek god of the sea. 'The sea is coming and will take everything ... In four or five years there won't be anything left here,' she added. Albanian authorities say that rising sea levels pose severe flood risks to many of the country's urban areas. By the end of the decade, more than a third of coastal areas will suffer direct consequences of flooding, according to the national civil protection agency. In Golem, just south of the resort city of Durres, hotel owners are worried about the authorities' seeming indifference to finding solutions and curbing uncontrolled building along the coast. 'The sea cannot wait for the authorities to wake up,' hotel administrator Edvin Dule said. Around 70m of Golem's beach has been lost in the past 16 years. Hotels springing up like mushrooms have further exacerbated the erosion and are shrinking the beaches on which they depend to attract tourists, locals say. 'It's a very worrying phenomenon that directly impacts the economy and tourism,' Dule said. 'If we cannot offer what tourists expect – umbrellas, deckchairs and activities on the sand – we reduce the quality of what we offer, which will translate into lower visitor numbers.' — AFP
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Hundreds evacuated as Guatemalan volcano erupts
ESCUINTLA, GUATEMALA: Guatemalan authorities said Thursday they were evacuating more than 500 people after Central America's most active volcano spewed gas and ash. Residents were moved to shelters from communities near the Fuego volcano, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital Guatemala City. 'We prefer to leave rather than mourn the death of everyone in the village later,' Celsa Perez, 25, told AFP. The government suspended local school activities and closed a road linking the south of the country to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, disaster coordination agency Conred reported. There have been several such mass evacuations in recent years because Fuego erupted, including in March of this year. In 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when rivers of lava poured down the volcano's slopes, devastating a village.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Iranians' World Cup dream crushed by US travel ban
A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of 'Great Satan' to cheer on their team. The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil. Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12 countries including Iran, which will take effect from Monday. 'My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil, and when they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP. 'Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered because of politics that we don't care about and have no control over,' said the 46-year-old who attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw the US side defeat Iran 1-0 in the group stage. The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran's nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached. - 'Degrading to all Iranians' - Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally. The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said. Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip. 'Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country,' said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan. Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his 'maximum pressure' policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that 'something bad' would happen unless the Iranians 'move quickly' towards a nuclear deal. Naderi, who called the ban 'inhumane' and 'degrading to all Iranians', still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider. The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them. Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations. 'Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner,' said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi. It could be 'a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries'. - Friendly? - In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos -- a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations. Iran won 2–1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride. With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building. 'The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments,' said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari. Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: 'If we face the US again, we'll definitely win.' 'Ours are real players,' the 18-year-old added. Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions. Such a game, he said, could help 'achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years'.
