On 12 May, the plume rose to an altitude of 8 km (26,200 ft) a.s.l.
During an overflight conducted by SERNAGEOMIN, four more plumes of a
similar altitude were generated by explosions and drifted NE. Several
hectares of burned vegetation, likely from pyroclastic flows or
lateral explosions, were noted on the N flank of the dome. Small
pyroclastic flows may also have been responsible for completely burned
forest to areas in the NE, and on the W and NW dome flanks. A lahar
caused the banks of the Chaitén River to overflow about 200 m on each
side, damaging about 40 houses and numerous cars that were partially
or fully submerged. During an overflight on 13 May, evidence of
pyroclastic flows on the N flank was observed. An ash-and-gas plume
emitted from the lava dome drifted NE. The Alert Level remained at
Red.
