VivirLatino

From One Chili to Another Chile : Volcanic Ash Snows Down in South America

09:35 H | Topics: Chile

15 centimeters of white covers the ground in the town of Chaiten, Chile and white stuff keeps falling from the sky. It's not a fall snowstorm in the 10th region of Chile but ash from the Chaiten Volcano that erupted on Thursday after being quiet for thousands of years.

What has followed has been the ground shaking beneath the feet of residents of Chaiten and nearby Futuleufu and Chana. Gas, food, and drinking water have been hard to come by for those who didn't or couldn't evacuate. Those that did leave their homes did so by boat to Puerto Montt, a city north of the area or by going east to Argentina. This area is fairly isolated and not easy to get to or from by car.

ChileVision has some pretty amazing footage of the initial eruption as well as the continuing impact.

Over the weekend, Chilean president Michele Bachelet visited the affected areas and was greeted by residents of Chaiten who confronted her with the sentiment that the government only cares about them in a crisis.

So far, only one death has been reported, a 90 year old woman who died of respiratory/cardiac failure when she was being evacuated to Puerto Montt.

Image Via / USA Today, You Tube, TVN (Chilean National Television)

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