World News for Students of English

09-03-2015 07:00

Residents living close to the Villa Rica Volcano in southern Chile have been evacuated after an eruption of lava and ash in the early hours of Tuesday.

The volcano, located near a popular tourist area south of the capital Santiago, is one of South America’s most active. It last erupted in 2000.

A column of ash and rock particles shot up two miles into the sky overnight. Although the initial violent eruption was short-lived, intermittent clouds of steam and gas continued to issue from the volcano. A spokesman for the National Geological Service said a major lava flow was not expected but added that could change.

Some 3,385 people have been evacuated as a preventative measure. There were no reports of any injuries.

Difficult words: resident (person who lives somewhere), lava (hot fluid rock), ash (the soft grey material which remains after something burns), column (a vertical thing), initial (existing in the beginning), intermittent (starting and stopping often), issue (to leave), preventative (something that should stop something bad from happening).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com