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Mexico

Popocatepetl Volcano to Keep on Releasing Ashes

MEXICO CITY (Dec. 27) XINHUA - A Mexican civil protection official said Wednesday that Popocatepetl Volcano will keep on sending out ash and other materials for months or even years, and the evacuees began to return home Tuesday afternoon.

Oscar Navarro, the civil protection director, said the potentially harmful ash will cause trouble for neighboring communities.

He said that the experts consider the trend will continue until some 19 million cubic meters of lava in the crater are eliminated.

The volcano spewed ash, gas, steam and red-hot material, amidst explosions and tremors, again on Wednesday, the National Disaster Prevention Center (Cenapred) said.

Thousands of people who lived in shelters after evacuation from their houses within eight miles of the volcano started to return following the approval of authorities on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities said volcanic activity has reduced but residents closer to the crater will be evacuated before any dangerous situation arises.

Popocatepetl burst into its most spectacular eruption in 1,200 years on December 18, and more than 4,000 people living near the 5, 450-meter mountain have been asked to stay away, most of them were settled in shelters.

Popocatepetl (smoking mountain in Nahuatl language) is also called "Don Goyo" or "el Popo". It lies 60 kilometers east of the capital.

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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 12/27/2000 21:49:03