“For us it was a surprise,” said Alejandro Verges, regional emergency director of the Los Lagos region. Winds blowing northeast were pushing the column of ash and smoke toward Argentina. This country also put emergency measures in place for the city of Bariloche – about 100km from Calbuco. There is a risk to be produced a pyroclastic flow which is a superheated current of gas and rock that can destroy nearly everything in its path and travel at speeds upwards of 200km to 300km per hour. Flights were canceled to and from neighbouring Puerto Montt. The situation is complicated for authorities. Chile has about 90 active volcanoes, of which Calbuco is considered one of the most dangerous.
