Senators request permanent monitoring of active volcanoes

SANTIAGO.- Amid the emergency in Chaitén, socialist senators Jaime Naranjo and Pedro Muñoz have presented a Proposal to the Upper House requesting a State policy to monitor the country’s numerous volcanoes, many of which are currently active.

The proposal calls for the President “to confer with a group of specialists, as well as members of the Mining and Finance ministries, to establish a permanent State policy within three months to implement monitoring systems on all currently active volcanoes”.

The document adds that, in order to accomplish this, “necessary economic resources will be allocated in the yearly National Budget to ensure the project’s operation and expansion, if deemed necessary”.

“There are more than 2,000 volcanoes in our country, about 200 of which are currently active.   Of these two hundred active volcanoes, only 40 are periodically monitored by the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin)”, Naranjo argued.