Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano had a little Christmas Day indigestion Monday, belching smoke, gas and ash as far as four kilometers (2.5 miles) high, a week after it rumbled to its greatest activity in 500 years.
Mexico's National Center for the Prevention of Disasters (Cenapred) maintained its alert, prohibiting travel in a 13-kilometer radius (eight mile) radius from the base of the volcano and maintaining the evacuation of some 40,000 people from the area.
Cenapred experts have determined that Popocatepetl is in an energy-charging phase, with more than 19 million cubic meters of lava accumulated in the volcanic cone, which could erupt or overheat, melting the volcano's glacial cap and trigger dangerous mudslides -- MEXICO CITY (AFP)
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