Several U.S airlines had to cancel their flights that would come in and out of Mexico City’s airport in the midst of reported volcanic activity from the Popocatepetl volcano. The Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention had raised the alert level to yellow phase three from yellow phase two—the third highest warning level on the seven step scale.
Apparently, the volcano had been emitting vapor and ash and had been spewing a hot shower made up of glowing rocks from its crater. Residents were also worried that its continuous activity will soon affect their health and pose more threat to their lives. There are over 20 million people living near the volcano.
Popular airlines such as AirTran, Delta, United, and Alaska had voluntarily cancelled around a dozen of their flights in the Mexico City International Airport. Despite all these, the airport continued with their normal operations without any restrictions. Incredibly, no ash from the volcano can be seen at the airport. However, some dust particles have been found and it’s quite amusing since the volcano is approximately 65 kilometers away.
The volcano’s mile-high spewing of ash, which has affected large areas of Mexico City, has led the six airlines from the US to cancel more than 40 of their flights on Thursday. By Friday afternoon, it had been noted that the volcano gave out 99 tremors and medium to high frequency dangerous levels of exhalation. Towering more than 15,000 feet in central Mexico, the volcano increased its activity and caused the states of Morelos, Puebla, and Mexico to be deeply alarmed.
Ash falls have been spotted on some towns found at the foot of the volcano and even as far as the other neighborhoods sprawled in Mexico City. The Ministry of Environment had advised their residents to take precautionary measures against the ash falls by wearing anti-dust facial masks, tightly covering their water containers, and staying inside their houses as often as they could.
The Popocatepetl volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico with 15 major eruptions since 1519. Two months ago, an eruption was also recorded with tremors lasting for 3.5 hours and spewed ash as high as 3 kilometers into the air.
