Ecuador declares volcano alert
2012-12-17 10:48
Quito - Ecuador issued an orange alert - the second-highest warning level - for
towns near the Tungurahua volcano on Sunday, as its level of activity rose,
civil defence officials said.
The area of the warning covers the adjacent provinces of Tungurahua and
Chimborazo, according to the national civil
defence agency.
Greater activity has been building since Wednesday, along with a slight
increase in gas emissions from the 5 029-meter volcano, located
about 135 kilometres south of the capital Quito, the Geophysical
Institute said.
Eruptions at Tungurahua, which means "Throat of Fire" in the
indigenous Quechua language, peaked in 2006, killing six people in a Chimborazo
village.
Several communities near Tungurahua, including the tourist town of Banos
with 15 000 people, also were forced to evacuate during the volcano's violent
eruption in 1999. Residents could only return to their homes a year later.
- SAPA
