Guatemala alarmed when Pacaya's volcano

On May 30, the Government of Guatemala officially announced the orange alarm (the closest to the red alert) due to fears that the Pacaya volcano in the country might erupt after a few hours of "waking up".

Pacaya volcano in Guatemala

Officials said the volcano began to operate on the morning of May 30 (local time), spraying more than 400 meters of dust and smoke into the air.

In the statement, Guatemala's Office of Disaster Response predicted that dust could spread in the direction of the wind to Guatemala City, 50km south.

The Institute of Volcanic Research warned that the eruption could push dust and smoke up to 1,000 to 1,200 meters, threatening air traffic of Guatemala International Airport.

The most recent major eruption of Pacaya volcano was at the end of May 2010 that killed a television reporter, thousands of people lost their homes and forced Guatemala City airport to be closed for five days.

At about 2,500 meters above sea level, Pacaya volcano is one of five active volcanoes out of 33 volcanoes located on Guatemala territory.