BOGOTA -- On his Twitter account, President Juan Manuel Santos said Volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupted on Saturday, adding that residents in the area are urged to follow recommendations by local officials. According to Carlos Marquez, the director of the National Agency for Disaster and Prevention, the people in the highest danger are those from Caldas and Tolima provinces, where 2,300 people have already been evacuated. The eruption started at around 5:40 p.m. (local time/22:40 GTM), when the volcano spewed an 8 to 10 km smoke column, which forced the Colombian Civil Aeronautics to suspend commercial flights in the cities of Armenia, Manizales and Pereira. Caldas Governor Guido Echeverri said volcanic ashes began to fall on villages, but there have been no reports of casualties, injuries or property damage. On May 29, an orange alert has been raised for Nevado del Ruiz and has been upgraded to red after the eruption.