Volcano Eruption in Nicaragua on Saturday, 08 September, 2012 at
18:12 (06:12 PM) UTC. Updated: Sunday, 09 September, 2012 at
03:31 UTC The San Cristobal volcano in Nicaragua rumbled to life
Saturday with three explosions, forcing the evacuation of 3,000
residents, authorities said. Television footage showed a column
of smoke and ash rising from the cone of the volcano,
Nicaragua's tallest at 1,745 meters (5,725 feet), in the
northeast. The civil defense agency said it readied 50 trucks
and 350 troops to support the population in case of greater
emergency, while the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial
Studies, or INETER, added they expect "more gas emissions and
sporadic explosions." There are some hamlets perched on the
slopes of the volcano, and winds could push the fumes from the
eruption there, said the director of the national disaster
prevention and mitigation agency, William Gonzalez. He said
authorities ordered some 3,000 people living in villages in that
zone to evacuate. Ashes fell on the towns of E