SANTIAGO—A volcano in southern Chile spewed ash before dawn on Friday, triggering tremors 12 miles (20 km) away and prompting evacuations, officials said.
Residents of Chaiten, 760 miles (1,220 km) south of the capital of Santiago, said ash from Michimahuida volcano rained over the picturesque town in Chilean Patagonia, but there was no lava flow.
"It is part of the process of eruption," a spokesman for national emergency office said by telephone. "Ash has been registered, and as a result preventive evacuation has begun in areas near the volcano."
Police had evacuated around 250 people.
Local media reported Michimahuida has not erupted since the early 19th century.
"We had a couple of days of tremors, and now we have learned that it was Michimahuida," Sara Ruiz, a receptionist at municipal offices in Chaiten, said by telephone.
"We felt the movements and can see the ash falling in town," she added. "We should really be wearing masks."
The activity comes after Chile's Llaima, one of South America's most active volcanoes, erupted violently on New Year's Day, spewing ash and molten lava and prompting the evacuation of dozens of tourists and staff from a wilderness park.
LLaima, which sits about 435 miles (700 km) south of Santiago, then belched ash in February, when a mile-long river of lava crept down its slopes.
Feeds