Volcano Update: 'Don Goyo' is still breathing....

Reed says we have 'Rear Orchestra' seats for monitoring Popocatéptl's activity. Of course, we're not alone.

CENAPRED (National Center for Prevention of Disasters), run by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), monitors the kinds of natural events that seem to abound in Mexico: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and cyclones, and the heavy rains that can cause flooding.

At first I thought CENAPRED is misnamed, but then I realized that their task is to provide the information that enables civil protection agencies and the general public to prepare itself to 'weather' extreme natural events. Popocatéptl, for example, is the most scrupulously monitored volcano in the world.

Multiple cameras photograph the volcano every 60 seconds. Here's a particularly dramatic shot captured in the early in the predawn hours of today by one of CENAPRED's cameras:

Popocatéptl lights up
Photo: CENAPRED

On a flight to D.F. from Florida last weekend, U.S. businessmen on their way to Mexico City anxiously queried Reed, "We've heard a volcano is about to erupt; is there any danger?"

The answer is, no, not really—at least, not for us here in Coyoacán. Nearly 40 miles from the volcano, most of Mexico City is upwind from 'Don Goyo' as he is familiarly and affectionately known locally, which means that the probability of ash blowing this way is minimal.

The colonial city of Puebla, however, is downwind from 'Popo'—yet another of the volcano's nicknames—and has been on the receiving end of falling ash.

But people know how to protect themselves—wear masks over nose and mouth to prevent inhaling the tiny particles; sweep roofs regularly to prevent the ash build-up sufficient to cause roofs to collapse; don't use water to flush ash—wet ash takes on the weight of cement!  And dispose of ash in plastic bags—ash clogs drains. Yes—ash falls are potentially a very big deal!

Regular news reports warn against becoming over-confident and urge the citizenry to stay alert for changes. Yesterday one report stated that a lava dome is forming in Popocatéptl that sooner or later  will erupt, but no one can predict when or—and I found this fascinating—how.

Every once in awhile folks in the U.S. ask us what we do in Mexico. Our usual answer is that we walk out our front door and...life happens...Mexican style!

But now our answer is a little different. After at least ten days of being pretty darned socked in, two days ago the air...and the skies...cleared, and we have been treated to ever-changing views of our two volcanoes:  Popocatéptl (active) and Iztaccíhuatl (extinct).

Yesterday afternoon, Reed spent the better part of an hour—or more!—capturing on film Popocatéptl's plume at dusk.

Popocatéptl's Plume at Dusk, Monday April 23, 2012
Photo: Reed

The CENAPRED web site is well-organized, attractive—including a list of Frequently Asked Questions that give important information in highly readable, easy-to-understand Spanish. The last point is "Seek out reliable information—neither believe nor repeat rumors."

Stay tuned!