Summary

NAME: MEX VOLCANO 080605N TAPE: EF05/0506 IN_TIME: 11:16:17:20 DURATION: 00:01:44:22 SOURCES: Televisa /Government TV/TV Azteca DATELINE: Various - 6-8 June 2005 RESTRICTIONS: See Script SHOTLIST: Televisa Colima - 6 June 2005 1. Mid shot of Colima Volcano exploding TV Azteca - No Access Mexico/Televisa San Marcos - 7 June 2005 2. Ambulances and rescue trucks at shelter 3. Mid shot of civil protection service truck 4. Mid shot of police handing out face masks 5. Pan shot of ambulance 6. Mid shot of volunteers at shelter's registration desk 7. Various children eating at shelter Government TV Mexico City - 8 June 2005 8. Mid shot of presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar and Civil Protection Coordinator Carmen Segura Rangel 9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): Carmen Segura Rangel, Civil Protection Coordinator: "This (volcanic) behaviour that could degenerate in an important explosive event and generate mudslides and avalanches through its slopes. According to the experts monitoring the volcano, this event could affect the town of San Marcos, a town of 13-thousand people. This area will have to be evacuated once we consider the risk to be too high." TV Azteca San Marcos - 7 June 2005 10. Wide shot of shelter's sleeping quarters 11. Mid shot of people at shelter 12. Mid shot of official handing out face masks 13. Mid shot of people eating 14. Wide shot of official giving out face masks to people in shelter STORYLINE: As fears grow that Mexico's Colima volcano - the 'Volcano of Fire' - is poised for a major eruption, emergency evacuation plans are being put in place. The volcano, 690 kilometres (430 miles) west of Mexico City, has been hurling hot lava into the air and dusting surrounding towns with ash for several days, forcing evacuations and raising concerns of a major eruption. The activity is the strongest recorded since scientific monitoring began 20 years ago, and even long-sceptical residents acknowledged Wednesday a new-found fear of the peak that straddles the line between Colima and Jalisco states. The volcano has had six spectacular eruptions in the past three weeks. The largest, late Monday, shot glowing lava five kilometres (three miles) above the crater of the 3,820-meter (12,533-foot) volcano and showered ash over the nearby city of Colima. Authorities handed out surgical masks to protect against breathing the fine grit, but so far the volcano has caused no major injuries or damage. Residents of three towns - Juan Barragan, El Borbollon and Yerbabuena, all eight kilometres (5 miles) from the peak - were asked to leave voluntarily on Monday. Most have followed the request. Many evacuees slept at an improvised shelter in San Marcos, 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the summit. Before dawn Wednesday, families sat outside their homes, casting nervous glances at the peak. A few families have insisted on staying, concerned their few possessions might be stolen or that they might be forbidden to return. About 300-thousand people live within 40 kilometres (25 miles) of the volcano. Authorities have established an off-limits zone 7.5 kilometres (4.5 miles) around the crater and an alert zone was in effect for 11.5 kilometres (7 miles). Federal Civil Protection Coordinator Carmen Segura was travelling to the volcano zone on Wednesday. The volcano has had more than 30 periods of eruptions since 1585, including several significant eruptions in the late 1990s.