GUATEMALA CITY, Aug 4 - Guatemalan authorities ordered the preventive evacuation of two communities near the Fuego volcano late on Monday as it entered a more intense eruptive phase, spewing ash and sending pyroclastic flows down its slopes.

The eruption sent pyroclastic flows — fast-moving mixtures of volcanic gas, ash and rock — down five ravines, disaster management officials said.

• The evacuations were ordered in the areas of El Porvenir and Las Lajitas, both in the municipality of San Juan Alotenango.

• Officials on Tuesday warned the flows could travel further if activity intensifies.

• Ash cloud dispersal could affect areas up to 100 km (62 miles) west and northwest of the volcano.

• Authorities on Tuesday declared an "orange alert" and stepped up monitoring of the volcano.

• A major eruption in 2018 of the Fuego volcano, about 30 km (19 miles) south of Guatemala City, buried an entire community and killed more than 200 people. REUTERS

Guatemala's Fuego volcano intensifies, prompts preventive evacuations