Santiago de Chile, March 3 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Chile's Villarrica Volcano erupted early Tuesday sending ash and lava high into the sky and forcing authorities to evacuate nearby communities.

The tourist resort of Pucon, located 465 miles south of Santiago, was entirely evacuated after the city mayor issued an emergency order. According to official reports, the lava activity intensified around 3:00 a.m. local time, leading to an explosion.

Villarica, one of South America's most active volcanoes, last erupted in 2000. Images of the orange lava and ash quickly went viral on social media.

Experts said they will monitor the volcano over the next several days for possible future explosions, while the Chilean government has called for an extraordinary meeting to evaluate the situation.

Chile is situated in an area known as the Pacific Rim of Fire and has the second largest chain of volcanoes in the world after Indonesia, including some 500 potentially active. Thirty-six are currently active and in the last 20 years there have been 15 volcanic eruptions.