Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption.  (Part Three)

Evacuation

The families who refused to be evacuated from the riverbed of Rio Nilahue were removed by force by the Carabineros de Chile after a resolution of the Appeal Court of Valdivia. It took the police more than 8 hours to evacuate 40 people. People resisted mainly because they had to leave their livestock behind. Small livestock farmers were permitted to check and care for their livestock once a day.

 

Economic and financial impact

Macquarie Equities placed the cost of disruptions to airlines at A$21 million for Qantas and $11 million for Virgin Australia. The tourism industry was also impacted, costing A$15 million during the two-week period, with CEO John Lee of lobbying group Tourism & Transport Forum stating a daily cost of at least A$10 million as a result of complete closure of Sydney and Melbourne's main airports.

The government of Neuquen province, Argentina, declared an economic emergency as the ash cloud was harming tourism and threatening livestock.The decree by provincial governor Jorge Sapag allowed those affected to claim for tax and other benefits. In Argentina ashes from Puyehue were advertised for sale and some were also used for making handicrafts. The intendant of Villa La Angostura asured that there were plenty of ideas of what to do with the ashes, among them bricks. In addition ashes were used to improve gravel roads around San Carlos de Bariloche.

The president Cristina Fernández announced on national television plans to supply $2.41 billion to 1,400 farmers and businesses in the area affected by the ash cloud. They also plan to spend $7 million on the cleanup operation, and double social benefits, and defer tax payments for the hardest hit regions