(Newswire.net — September 25, 2017) —Active Volcano Popocatepetl located in the states of Puebla, Mexico, and Morelos, in Central Mexico, spewed vapor and ash-filled gas after two small eruptions, on Saturday, September 23rd.
The volcano is located 43 miles southeast of Mexico City and it is visible on a clear day to approximately 20 million people who live in the Mexico City metropolitan region.
Popocatepetl is at an elevation of 17,802 feet, and it is the second highest peak in Mexico. It has been occasionally erupting since 1994.
In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were evacuated by the government based on the warnings of scientists. The volcano then made its largest display in 1,200 years.
The previous eruptions were in August 2016, with four discrete blasts, and now on Saturday, but experts claim that the last eruption is unrelated to the three powerful earthquakes that hit Mexico in the past days, when they killed about 400 people and caused damage of up to $8 billion.
But, unfortunately, this is not the end of the natural disasters that hit Mexico in September this year.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that tropical Storm Pilar formed in the Pacific, threatening to bring heavy rains to the southwestern coast of Mexico.
Pilar had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph early Sunday and it was located about 60 miles south of Cabo Corrientes, and the storm was moving north-northwest at about 6 mph.
Storm and rainfall are expected in the western portions of the Mexican states of Michoacan, Colima, western Jalisco and Nayarit through Monday.
It’s expected to pass near the resort of Puerto Vallarta.
In some areas more than 15 inches of rain is possible, and this can lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash floods.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted that the latest eastern Pacific tropical storm won’t last long. Pilar will stay very close to the coast for the next few days, without gaining hurricane force. If the center moves inland sooner, it will weaken sooner, weather.com reports.