According to the latest report from the Colombian Geological Service (SGC), two active volcanoes are on alert due to a possible risk of eruption. The areas registered by the entity are the Huila and Puracé volcanoes.
Despite the warning, experts indicated that the volcano located in Opita territory is on yellow alert, but its status may change if the movement of tectonic plants in the area continues to grow.
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Until now, the emission from the volcano registers a seismic signal associated with a sudden rise in the Páez River in the sectors of Yusayú and Tóez, municipalities of Cauca, which reports an increase in the flow of the river, which has generated landslides, increasing the activity . This volcano joins the 25 active structures monitored by the Colombian geological service that would be at risk of erupting.
The leader of the Popayán volcanological and seismological Observatory of the SGC, Jaime Raigosa explained that the increase in the seismic signal is associated with “a flood in the Páez River. In the sectors of Yusayú and Tóez, in Cauca.”
Another of the areas identified by the entity in charge of basic and applied scientific research of the potential of subsoil resources; and monitoring threats of geological origin, is the Puracé volcano, located in the Los Coconucos volcanic chain, in the department of Cauca.
This area is on orange alert, since the seismic activity is related to the movement of fluids and the breaking of rock bodies within the volcano, the SGC revealed in the latest bulletin. Likewise, the entity indicated that the rock fracture located in the crater of the Puracé volcano has an estimated depth of one and three kilometers.
On May 26, 2024, the Colombian Geological Service (SGC) updated the information on the status of the volcano, indicating that the seismic activity associated with the movement of fluids inside it presented a decrease.
Likewise, he pointed out that the seismic activity linked to the fracture process showed a slight increase, for this reason they maintained the orange alert. In turn, the entity clarified that there is a possibility that the levels of seismic activity and degassing may decrease or change, alternating between increases and decreases, this does not mean that the volcano has returned to its normal activity levels.
According to the information provided by the entity, seismic activities are associated with gas emissions that have ash residues, putting the area at risk, since combustion may occur that activates the volcano. On the other hand, soil deformation and concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) remain high, exceeding the usual levels for this volcano.
Given this panorama, the technical director of Geothreats, John Makario Londoño, assured that “this change is within everything that frames a state of orange alert, they are important changes within the activity of the volcano that imply the greater probability of a major eruption. and, therefore, these variations are typical of this state that is unstable.”
He also explained that for the volcano to return to yellow alert, seismic activity must decrease for several days in a row. However, this does not guarantee that the volcano will erupt.. If an imminent eruption is detected, the Colombian Geological Service will change the status to red alert. Meanwhile, the entity recommends that people remain attentive to official information and follow the instructions of disaster risk management organizations.
