Natural Hazards and Disasters: Disaster of the Month: June 2019

This month we look back at the June 2018 Fuego eruption.

Event Background:

On Sunday 3 June 2018, a major eruption occurred at Fuego (Volcán de Fuego). This was the second major eruption of the year and the largest eruption since October 1974.

Although the eruption in 1974 was a VEI 4 on the Volcano Explosivity Index, it did not result in fatalities. It did however, destroy homes and agriculture land.

The first major eruption of the year occurred on 31 January to 1 February 2018, lasting 20 hours, resulting in pyroclastic flows, lava flows, incandescent ejecta and ash plumes reaching heights of 7 km. Ashfall was also recorded more than 60 km from Fuego.

Fuego is a 3763 m (12346 feet) stratovolcano, located 40 km (25 miles) southwest of the capital, Guatemala City. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Central America. An estimated 54,332 people live within 10 km of the volcano and an estimated 1,016,339 live within 30 km of the volcano.

The eruption on 3 June began with a strong explosion in the morning, followed by multiple explosions throughout the day. The strong explosion produced an ash plume which rose to a height of 6 km and generated large pyroclastic flows, affecting Sangre de Cristo and San Pedro Yepocapa, located on the west flank of the volcano. The pyroclastic flows resulted in fatalities and devastating and extensive damage. Further large pyroclastic flows, accompanied by strong explosions were generated throughout the day.

Washington Volcano Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) reported that at 1330 local time, a large eruption resulted in an ash plume rising to 15 km. In addition, a plume of sulphur dioxide was detected drifting north and east at an altitude of 8 km.

Tephra and lapilli affected the village of La Soledad, located 25 km away from Fuego. Ashfall affected municipalities as far away as 22 km away from the volcano. Lahars were also generated.

On 4 June, the communities of Escuintla, Alotenango, Sacatepéquez, Yepocapa, Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa and Chimaltenango were put on a Red Alert Level by the National Coordination for Disaster Reduction of Guatemala (Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres - CONRED).

Further pyroclastic flows were generated on 5 June, suspending rescues operations. Responders were evacuated from the town of El Rodeo due to the increased risk. Additional evacuations took place in La Reyna, El Rodeo, Cañaveral I and IV, Hunnapu, Magnolia, and Sarita, as a result of these pyroclastic flows. Block avalanches were also generated on 5 June.

On 6 June, heavy rainfall resulted in lahars being produced which damaged infrastructure including bridges and roads. 33 lahars were recorded between 6 June and 30 June. According to the Global Volcanism Program, lahars often measured 30 to 40 m wide and 3 m deep. They carried debris measuring a maximum 3 m in diameter.

Additional pyroclastic flows were generated on 7, 8, 12, and 13 June.

Daily weak explosions, block avalanches and ash plumes continued throughout the month of June. Ashfall was reported within 15 km of Fuego’s summit.

Further activity continued throughout the year generating ash plumes, weak explosions, lava flows and lahars.

Fuego remains active. You can find detailed weekly reports on Global Volcanism Program.

Impact:

The number of fatalities vary from 147 to 190. According to the Red Cross report published in 2019, the eruption resulted in 165 fatalities. Fatalities occurred in El Rodeo, Alotenango and San Miguel Los Lotes. The eruption occurred without warning, leaving victims no time to escape their homes. As mentioned above, fatalities were a result of pyroclastic flows.

12,823 (1,788 people from Chimaltenango, 10,823 from Escuintla and 212 from Sacatepéquez), were evacuated as a result of the eruption and risk of pyroclastic flows.

Chimaltenango, Sacatepéquez and Escuintla were the worst affected departments. The town of San Miguel Los Lotes was not only the worst impacted, but also saw the highest number of fatalities.

Pyroclastic flows inundated agriculture land, bridges, vehicles and homes. Entire villages including El Rodeo, were covered by ash and debris, as shown by the images and videos below. A state of emergency was declared in the Departments of Escuintla, Sacatepéquez and Chimaltenango.

On 8 June, 4,175 people took refuge in 21 registered shelters in the departments of Escuintla (17 shelters), Sacatepéquez (1 shelter), Santa Rosa (2 shelters) and Suchitepéquez (1 shelter).

The eruption caused La Aurora International Airport to shut down for two days as a result of the ashfalls.

An estimated 21,000 acres (8,500 hectares) of corn, bean, and coffee crops were destroyed due to the eruption.

In Sacatepéquez, 1,048 hectares of corn, beans, sweet potato, peaches, avocado, coffee, green beans and other crops were destroyed and 7,627 farming families were affected. In Chimaltenango, 2,808 hectares of corn, carrots, chili pepper, beans, avocado, broccoli and tomatoes were impacted and 13,504 farming families were affected. In Escuintla, 5,910 hectares of corn, bananas, beans, maxán leaf, coffee and other fruits were destroyed, affecting 9,090 farming families.

Countless animals and livestock were killed by the eruption. Response teams from organisations such as World Animal Protection, worked with local volunteers and responders to rescue surviving and abandoned animals and livestock in need.

Rescue and recovery efforts were suspended or delayed due to the risk of further pyroclastic flows, lahars and the poor weather.

According to the UN Migration Agency, 86% of the people affected by the eruption lost their source of income or their business. Surveys also showed that 43% of those affected did not have agricultural land left.

The infographic below, shows further information on the impacts.

Images:

Ash plume at 1330 local time on 3 June rising to a height of 15 km, travelling east (Source: NASA Earth Observatory)

Concentrations of sulphur dioxide at an altitude of 8 km (5 miles) on 3 June 2018 (Source: NASA Earth Observatory)

A damage proxy map showing areas likely damaged by pyroclastic flows and ashfalls. The damage is shown by the red and yellow pixels. (Source: NASA Earth Observatory)

The image on the right was taken on 24 June 2018 by a Landsat 8 satellite. As shown, elevated temperatures have been detected in some of the pyroclastic flow deposits. The deposits remained between 4 to 6 degrees warmer than the surrounding area. The image on the left shows the lahar and pyroclastic flow deposits (Source: NASA Earth Observatory)