Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Chile volcanoes errupt: 'The streets are like a beach'

  • Published

Ash clouds belched out by a chain of volcanoes in southern Chile are being monitored by authorities.

Wind carried ash across the Andes, dropping a grey blanket on the Argentine resort of Bariloche after the eruption of the Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range over the weekend.

Andrea Duprez from Bariloche has been speaking to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ about how she has been affected by the volcanic ash clouds.

Everything is white here in Bariloche. It is quiet and the ash is falling.

I'm a teacher and today we didn't have lessons and almost nobody worked. We won't have lessons tomorrow either. Some people are panic buying water and food in the supermarkets but I don't think they need to.

There's quite a lot of ash. We had a similar experience to this three years ago but this time, there is much more.

I went for a walk to take pictures and all the streets are covered.

The ash is like snow, but thicker, more like sand, so the streets are like a beach.

The advice from the authorities is to stay at home so they can clear the streets. They are also saying to be careful with drinking the water.

We're told the ash is not toxic and will pass but if you have asthma you need to stay indoors as it can irritate your eyes and throat.

The airport is closed for the rest of the week, but one of the roads was re-opened today. In one of the towns closer to the volcano, all the roads were closed.

It's a bit of a ghost town which is strange, as usually it is a town that attracts many tourists, so we're used to seeing lots of people moving around. There are no shops are open, the sky is grey and there are no people outside.

It is too soon to say what impact the ash will have. It is low season at the moment and July is the high season.

Some people are saying it will affect tourist trade but I think it's just too soon to say what the long-term effect the ash will have on the town.