West News Wire: On Wednesday, Peru issued a state of emergency in the area surrounding the Ubinas volcano for sixty days.
According to the Geophysical Institute of Peru, the volcano has been spewing ash and gas since earlier this week, which has travelled up to 5,500 metres (1,800 feet) into the atmosphere.
According to the institution, the smoke cloud has travelled over cities 10 kilometres (more than 6 miles) distant from the volcano.
Ubinas is located in Moquegua, a region 1,200 kilometres (746 miles) southeast of Lima, and is the country’s most active volcano.
Emergency declaration in response to volcanic eruption fears.
The state of emergency has been called in the area around the volcano. It allows the government to take “exceptional measures and actions” to counter risks from activity at the volcano.
The declaration was approved in a cabinet meeting with President Dina Boluarte, Peru’s Council of Ministers wrote on Twitter.
Some 2,000 people live in the affected areas. The zone is part of the “Ring of Fire” along the edges of the Pacific Ocean known for volcanic activity and earthquakes.
Local authorities have not ordered an evacuation for residents, but federal agencies are readying shelters.
Hundreds of people were evacuated when the volcano erupted in 2019. Since 1550, some 25 eruptions have been recorded at Ubinas. Moquegua and the neighbouring regions of Arequipa and Tacna have about 40 volcanoes, most of them dormant.
