It is even the home to the popular Guatemala Impact Marathon which pioneered the use of a running route across the lava field created by the 2010 eruption and supports the local communities through runners endeavouring to complete the challenge.

Pacaya lies on the southern edge of a sizable volcanic caldera formed in the Pleistocene age which contains Lago de Amatitlán.

This caldera has been the source of at least nine very large explosions over the past 300,000 years, erupting a total of about 70 cubic kilometres (17 cu mi) of magma.

The presence of a magma chamber at shallow depths beneath Pacaya means that distortion of the cone leading to instability and future landslides remains a hazard to the surrounding areas.

The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) declared a red alert for the communities near the volcano and recommended the evacuation of some of them.

[13] President Álvaro Colom declared a state of calamity in the region adjacent to the volcano, and the Ministry of Education closed the schools in the departments of Guatemala, Escuintla, and Sacatepequez.

Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Agatha worsened the emergency situation, causing lahars, landslides and widespread flooding across the country.