The Galeras volcano has erupted near the town of Pasto in Colombia. The alert level has been set to red.
A large amout of ash is currently falling on the city of Pasto.
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8,000 people have begun evacuating the area, when the volcano began erupting at 7:10pm. The Civil Defense and Red Cross are helping with the evacuations as many people live on the volcano slopes. The volcano is not in a heavily populated area however.
Authorities have raised the alert level to "red" after an "explosive eruption" at the Galeras Volcano in Colombia, according to local TV.
Mayor Eduardo Alvarado said:
an abundant ashfall on urban Pasto and on some rural areas,"
There have been no reports of injuries or fatalities at this time.
Two water treatment plants have been shut down however just in case.
What does 'Red Alert' mean?
A red alert is the highest level of alert that can be issued in any situation when a threat of danger is immanent.
The Galeras Volcano is the most active volcano in Colombia and is has been active for over a million years now.
The volcano previously erupted on January 17, 2008 causing only partial damage.
Two major caldera-forming eruptions have occurred, the first about 560,000 years ago in an eruption which expelled about 15 cubic kilometres of material, and the second some time between 40,000 and 150,000 years ago, in a smaller but still sizable eruption of 2km³ of material. Subsequently, part of the caldera wall has collapsed, probably due to instabilities caused by hydrothermal activity, and later eruptions have built up a smaller cone inside the now horseshoe-shaped caldera. In light of its violent eruptive history and proximity to the 450,000 people of Pasto, Galeras was designated a Decade Volcano in 1991, identifying it as a target for detailed study as part of the United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
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Galeras in July 2006. 
Thousands of people in Pastos, Colombia have been ordered to evacuate after the Galeras Volcano began to "explosively" erupt, according to reports. According to Colombia's Institute of Geology and Mines, the eruption began at about 7:10 p.m. local time (00:10 GMT). An estimated 8,000 people have been affected.

"There is a large amount of ash" falling from the sky, said Eduardo Alvarado, Pastos's provincial governor, adding that those "who live in urban areas, remain in their homes." The government in the area has been put on red alert and the Red Cross has also been called in to assist in aiding refugees. So far there are no reports of injuries damages, or deaths.

Galeras, which sits on the Colombian, Ecuador border, had recently erupted in 2008, but there were no injuries or deaths. In 1993, nine people were killed in an eruption. It's the most active volcano in Colombia and has been erupting regularly for at least a million years.