Nicaragua volcano spews tons of ash

View of the San Cristobal volcano erupting in Chinandega, some 150 km from Managua, on September 8, 2012. Some three thousand people have been evacuated from communities on the slopes of the volcano. AFP

MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s San Cristobal volcano shot tons of ash into the sky Sunday after forcing evacuations of nearby towns, officials said.

A column of smoke and ash rose from the cone of the volcano, Nicaragua’s tallest at 1,745 meters (5,725 feet), in the northeast, where rumbling a day earlier prompted nearby hamlets to be ordered evacuated.

But volcanic activity did not appear to have worsened, according to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies, or INETER. Still, the volcano was shooting as much as 3,221 tons of ash into the sky, compared to an average day of 550-700 tons, it said.

“The high sulfur emissions, eight times higher than normal mean that the volcano has its own internal activity and that there could be more explosions,” said INETER geophysics chief Angelica Munoz.

San Cristobal, located 135 kilometers northwest of the capital Managua, is among seven active volcanoes in the Central American nation. It is believed to have erupted for the first time in 1685.