Two nighttime ash exhalations that occurred while neighbors were sleeping on Wednesday make the Turrialba volcano of the province of Cartago one of the most active in Costa Rica. According to a report filed by Alejandro Fonseca of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the first slight eruption occurred at 1:00 am and the second happened nearly 15 minutes later.

According to the Observatory of Seismicity and Volcanology of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI), the two ash eruptions were of low intensity and did not even reach 50 meters. These exhalations did not wake up neighbors of nearby farming communities, who are still shaken up by the strong magmatic eruptions and gaseous activity that the Turrialba volcano has exhibited over the last few months.

Geologists are keeping a close eye on the Turrialba by means of detection instruments. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star:

[a] geodesic monument [is] located just outside of the Turrialba Lodge, a hotel that is frequently visited by volcano tourists. It is important to note, however, that the Turrialba National Park has been evacuated and is off limits to visitors. There is a strong chance of acid rain precipitation in the next few days; although this geological and meteorological event is not so harmful to humans, it is irritating and may signal emanation of other noxious gases.

The ash expelled by the Turrialba this time was transported by strong winds to the northwest, where it fell on a protected jungle.

The Ghost Towns Near the Turrialba

Additional reporting by Diario Extra shines a light on the effect that the Turrialba activity has had on the communities located on the ample skirts of the colossus. The small villages of La Silvia and La Picada are now ghost towns, and one of them even has a spooky dilapidated wooden church that may be attractive to photographers and certain tourists, but most of the area is still closed to visitors due to the heavy volcanic activity.

In these towns, small creeks have been dried out and turned into rivers of ash. Vegetation has not yet grown back and thus it looks brown and black. Birds have flown away for good, and there is absolutely no sign of arboreal wildlife or human activity.