GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala issued its second-highest emergency alert Monday as the Fuego volcano erupted, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from two nearby villages and suspend some local activities.
The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, known as Conred, declared a nationwide orange alert as the volcano, one of Central America’s most active, erupted about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Guatemala City.
Authorities began moving residents from communities near the volcano to temporary shelters as volcanic activity increased.
The government also suspended local school activities and closed a road connecting southern Guatemala with Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fuego, which rises 3,763 meters (12,346 feet), has triggered several mass evacuations in recent years because of its frequent eruptions.
Last year, authorities evacuated more than 500 people after the volcano released gas and ash, forcing residents from communities near the crater to seek shelter.
An eruption in 2023 prompted the evacuation of about 1,200 people.
Guatemala sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Fuego’s 2018 eruption killed 215 people, while a similar number remained missing after lava flows swept down the volcano’s slopes and devastated a nearby village.