Calbuco, a volcano located about 600 miles south of Santiago, Chile, erupted Wednesday afternoon.
The eruption happened after a series of earthquakes, the Chilean Interior Ministry reported. The column of smoke and ash rose more than nine miles into the atmosphere.
Erupcion en el volcán Calbuco @adnradiochile @latercera @Emol @Cooperativa
Shortly after the volcano erupted, Chile's Interior Ministry declared a red alert and ordered evacuations within a 12-mile radius around the volcano.
About 1,500 people were included in the evacuation, the Associated Press reported.
Officials later declared a state of emergency for part of the region, according to the Interior Ministry.
Erupción del Calbuco en estos momentos
The volcano is just a few miles from the city of Puerto Varas.
Rayos en la columna de humo #VolcanCalbuco @24HorasTVN @EdoCaroemago @biobio @CNNChile
Pictures posted online showed a massive plume of smoke and ash rising into the sky.
#VolcanCalbuco en #Erupción me da susto esto, de verdad.
The volcano continued erupting well into the night, with photos capturing lightning in the massive ash cloud.
AHORA: otra impactante imagen de la erupción del volcán #Calbuco esta madrugada
AHORA: en estos momentos, erupción en volcán #Calbuco
Wednesday marked the first time Calbuco has erupted in 42 years, the AP reported.
The eruption also comes less than two months after Villarrica, a volcano in central Chile, erupted and forced thousands of people to flee.
Video pto Montt ahora
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet will visit the affected region Thursday, La Tercera reported.
Volcán calbuco !! @canal13 @TonkaTP #chile #puertomontt
@adnradiochile @biobio Nueva vista desde la puerta de mi casa en #PuertoVaras ... No falta