Thousands of people were evacuated after one of South America's most active volcanoes erupted earlier this week in southern Chile. The Villarrica volcano erupted at 3am local time, forcing the National Emergency Office to issue a red alert and order the evacuations.
During a visit to the region on Tuesday, President Michelle Bachelet declared a state of agricultural emergency in order to help farmers cope with the aftermath of the eruption as well as the drought which has hit parts of La Araucanía this summer and is primarily thought to be affecting the region's livestock farmers.
It is not yet clear to what extent the region’s fruit production has been affected but with the bulk of this season’s crop already harvested the impact on the industry is likely to be minimal.
Villarrica, which lies 775km to the south of Santiago, is considered to be one of the most active volcanos in Latin America, its most recent eruptions being in 2000 and 1984.
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