Puyehue ash cloud may reach BA city by Tuesday, experts assure

The ash cloud hovering above Northern Patagonia since Saturday after the eruption of the Puyehue volcano may reach the city of Buenos Aires on Tuesday, experts assured.

“The ash cloud has reached Bahía Blanca, Mendoza, La Pampa and will slowly keep hovering towards the north across the Buenos Aires province. By Tuesday, it will reach the city,” National Weather Forecast manager Luis Rosso said.

The expert assured, however, that the phenomenon would not be as intense as the one affecting the south of the country. “We may see some ash, but only slightly,” he concluded.

As ashes from the Puyehue volcano continue to fall over the Andean region, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called Neuquén Governor Jorge Sapag earlier today to let him know that the government was ready to help the population “with whatever resources he deemed necessary.”

According to official sources, the President called Sapag from the Olivos Presidential Residence in the morning and offered her help, just as she did last Saturday when she called Río Negro Governor Miguel Saiz. 

Due to the state of emergency issued after the volcanic eruption, Sapag ordered the local authorities to bring calm to the increasingly concerned population.

The cities of Villa La Angostura, San Martín de los Andes and Junín de los Andes are the most affected by the ash cloud, although stones and ash have also reached the Río Negro city of Bariloche and the Chubut cities of Trelew and Puerto Madryn.

While talking to the governor, Fernández de Kirchner offered him her “full support” in order to help the population until the ash cloud recedes.