On Sunday, the Fuego Volcano erupted, expelling 8 kilometers of lava and a thick column of black smoke and ash that rained down on the capital of the country and other regions.The eruption of the volcano in Guatemala was accompanied by pyroclastic flows, ash rain, lava flows and mud. Many volunteers and institutions are focusing on locating and rescuing people. The death toll has risen to 69, there are many injured and an undetermined number of missing persons.
Given that, at this moment, the priority is people, material damage has not yet been discussed. "There is still no report of damage to crops, since the volcanic material does not allow access to the affected areas," reports the Communication Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAGA).
"Experts like Gustavo Chigna, from the Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (Insivumeh), estimate that the crops, particularly corn and coffee, would have been reduced to ashes within a radius of five kilometers around the volcano," according to an article published by El País this morning.
The vulcano Fuego is located about 40 kilometers from the capital and near the city of Antigua. According to national media, the ash shower has affected at least five provinces. "It threw a rain of ash that affected the crops, which are being monitored to determine the amount of losses, mainly to the families that live on the cultivation of agricultural products," published República Guatemala. "The Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (Cacif), announced that the business sector is collaborating to respond to emergencies and monitor losses in the plantations."
Only the coffee sector has offered preliminary data, but information on damaged crops is still being collected. The National Coffee Association (Ancafé) reported that "damages are reported in El Rodeo, Escuintla and Alotenango, Suchitepéquez, where between 15 and 20 percent of the coffee area, from approximately 1,540 to 2,055 'manzanas', are affected by the sand and ash ".
HLB Specialties, based in Florida, imports rambutan from Guatemala by air. Melissa Hartman de Barros reacted on the situation last night, when the airport was still closed. “HLB Specialties’ air shipments of rambutan coming out of Guatemala are currently facing delays due to the eruption of the Fuego volcano. The airport in Guatemala City is closed at the moment and we are waiting to hear whether it will reopen later today or tomorrow. The rambutan growing areas are not directly hit, but ash has reportedly reached the airport, which has caused officials to close it. Our thoughts are with the people in the affected areas and hope that the situation improves quickly.”
National press announced this morning that the airport La Aurora has reopened, which means national and international flights start to operate normally.