Thursday, March 08, 2007
Ecuador, shaken by volcano eruptions
Ecuador's regional authorities on Monday evacuated hundreds of villagers following the eruption of the Tungurahua Volcano which had lain dormant for six months.
The 5,029-meter-high volcano, 135 km from Ecuador's capital Quito, has been active for a week. It has thrown out ash and a 2 km-high column of heavy smoke.
A report by the Ecuadorian Institute of Geophysics said the volcano erupted after being dormant for six months, causing 87 small earthquakes in the area in 24 hours.
Four hundred villagers living nearby have been evacuated.
An official from the Ecuadorian Red Cross warned that more severe eruptions could happen in the near future, and called on the emergency services to help evacuate the region.
Two deadly eruptions last year destroyed six villages, killed six people and injured 12.
After remaining dormant for eight decades, Tungurahua rumbled back in to life in 1999 and has been active ever since.
The 5,029-meter-high volcano, 135 km from Ecuador's capital Quito, has been active for a week. It has thrown out ash and a 2 km-high column of heavy smoke.
A report by the Ecuadorian Institute of Geophysics said the volcano erupted after being dormant for six months, causing 87 small earthquakes in the area in 24 hours.
Four hundred villagers living nearby have been evacuated.
An official from the Ecuadorian Red Cross warned that more severe eruptions could happen in the near future, and called on the emergency services to help evacuate the region.
Two deadly eruptions last year destroyed six villages, killed six people and injured 12.
After remaining dormant for eight decades, Tungurahua rumbled back in to life in 1999 and has been active ever since.
# posted by kevin : 6:33 PM
