The Rincon de la Vieja volcano erupted on Friday afternoon in Costa Rica, with no reports of damage to infrastructure or casualties, authorities said.
The eruption of the volcano – located in the province of Guanacaste, in the northwestern tip of the country – was quite powerful.
The volcanic plume reached a height of 2.5 kilometers from the summit of Rincon de la Vieja, geologist Blas Sanchez said in a video message released by the National Emergency Commission (CNE).
“The volcano has recorded eruptions throughout the week, although not as large as this one,” he added. An eruption of such magnitude “indicates a surge in activity,” he stressed.
Currently, the alert level for this volcano remains at yellow (3rd highest) on the four-step scale, which translates to “significant” seismic activity, with small eruptions and release of toxic gases, according to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI).
Authorities have asked residents of areas near the volcano to stay away from rivers due to the risk of contamination from materials erected from the crater.
There are about 120 volcanoes in Costa Rica, but only five of them are active.
