Volcano Near Mexico City Becomes More Active 114
benfrog writes "Popocatépetl, a volcano that sits 34 miles east of Mexico City, has begun a series of small eruptions. It's feared that larger eruptions would not only endanger people within range of its explosions, but disrupt life in Mexico City with ash clouds. 'People in the village of Xalitzintla said they were awakened by a window-rattling series of eruptions. Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center said one string of eruptions ended in the early morning, then the volcano started up again at 5:05 a.m., with at least 12 eruptions in two hours.' More than 30 million people live within sight of the volcano."
Here's a hint (Score:4, Informative)
Go Google the location of the plates and fault lines, then look at earthquakes for the last 10 years and you will see a pattern.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ypalM7eSBEQ/SdzT_ajylVI/AAAAAAAAAbM/XNB1-z6lvKg/s1600-h/tectonic_map.jpg [blogspot.com]
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/byyear.php [usgs.gov]
Re:Stupid (Score:4, Informative)
What kind of idiot builds a city next to a volcano?
For any of us that happen to live in the northwest US or the billion or so others who are near the Pacific ring of fire, we don't really have much choice. Here in Bend, we're only 30 miles from a bunch of old volcanoes--one of them, South Sister, is developing a bulge that grows about 1 inch a year--but if we moved the city farther away, we'd be out in the desert without our wonderful view of the Cascade Mountains and quick access to the ski resort and the dozens of lakes up there. Who would want that? I think it's a lot easier for someone from Scotland (I assume *that* Edinburgh) to avoid volcanoes in his native land, eh?
In any case, lack of proximity does not equal safety. When Mt St Helens erupted in 1980, I was in Spokane, at least a couple of hundred miles away from it, and we got blanketed in ash that made life more difficult for weeks. We didn't suffer from pyroclastic flows or anything, of course, but it's not recommended to breath volcanic ash for any length of time (had to wear masks forever).
Re:Earthquake link? (Score:5, Informative)
There are always magnitude 2 - 6 earthquakes around the Pacific Rim - that's why it's called the 'ring of fire'. So yes, it's related, but pretty much business as usual.
Re:Ash and Mexico City (Score:4, Informative)
I wonder how many American cities you have been too. LA and Mexico City have the same issue, they are both built in a depression which traps the pollution, so they both have the same issue of a haze. New York however has very little in the way of air pollution, though I wouldn't want to swim in the rivers running through the city. :) Pollution issues in cities mostly has to do with geography, until we move from ICE, it is something we can't do too much about.