Guatemala tourist hub rocked by volcano eruption

One of Guatemala's most famous tourist attractions was hit Thursday by a series of eruptions from a long-simmering volcano that sent thick clouds of ash nearly two miles (3 km) high, spewed rivers of lava down its flanks and prompted evacuation orders for more than 33,000 people from surrounding communities.
Guatemala's head of emergency evacuations said the evacuees were ordered to leave some 17 villages around the Volcán del Fuego, home to 45,000 people.
Many of those living around the volcano are indigenous Kakchikeles people who live in relatively poor and isolated communities, and authorities said they expected to encounter difficulties in evacuating all the affected people from the area.
Teresa Marroquin, disaster coordinator for the Guatemalan Red Cross, said the organization had set up 10 emergency shelters and was sending hygiene kits and water, Fox News reported.
Officials in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala, said they were monitoring the situation in case winds drove ash toward Mexico.