MANAGUA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Nicaragua's Telica volcano, one of six active in the Central American nation, threw a column of ash and gas hundreds of feet into the air on Tuesday.

Around 2,500 people live close to the volcano, but no one was evacuated.

A series of explosions and strong winds sent the ash and gas at least 1,640 feet (500 meters) above Telica's crater.

The 3,576-foot (1,090-meter) volcano, is close to Nicaragua's second largest city, Leon, in the east of the country.

"The volcano has seen explosions and abundent gas and ash emissions since three in the afternoon (2100 GMT)," seismologist Alejandro Morales from the Nicaraguan Territorial Studies Institute told Reuters.

The institute described the eruption as low intensity, but stronger than the volcano's normal activity.

(Additional reporting by Ivan Castro)

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