The plume of volcanic ash rose to 17 km and blanketed the entire town.
At that time about 4,000 people were living in Chaiten, who were immediately evacuated.
The Chaiten volcano continued to erupt for the next several days becoming increasingly violent.
The ash column became 30 km tall and drifted across Chile and Argentina and over the Atlantic Ocean.
Nearly half of the town was destroyed.
Chaiten on June 20, 2008.
Photo credit:Javier Rubilar/Flickr
Fortunately, the town was already evacuated so there was no loss of life.
But property loss was immense.
Buildings collapsed, streets caved in and houses and cars were swept away by the lahar flow.
All these years Chaiten has remained as it was, partially buried under a thick layer of mud.
The new Chaiten is now expanding northward away from the coast where the other, mud-caked half remains.
But it isnt any safer than it was.
The volcanos last eruption occurred in 2011, and it continues to show minor activity.
