State of emergency in Ecuador as volcano spews ash
AUGUST 17, 2015 : ALJAZEERA.COM
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Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has declared a state of
emergency over increasing activity in the Cotopaxi volcano near
the capital of Quito.
Saturday’s decree gives authorities more flexibility in using
government funds to deal with any problems, with officials
having so far evacuating several hundred people as a
precaution.
Eruptions beginning Friday have shot ash more than five
kilometres into the sky, spreading fine grey powder over roads,
homes and cars in the region as far as the capital, 50km to the
north.
Presidential legal secretary Alexis Mera said further ash
explosions and some pyroclastic flows on the volcano’s western
slopes on Saturday led officials to evacuate some nearby
villages.
Dozens of families fled the immediate vicinity, setting up tents
and improvised camps at a higher location, where they
continued to watch the volcanic activity.
The evacuees organised themselves to discuss how to handle
the situation, feed their animals and stay warm as cold
temperatures set in.
Government authorities were on hand to discuss moving the
group to more formal shelters.
“We have come here because we saw that here were could be in
a higher location, more or less, to safeguard ourselves, all of us,
all of us who are here and we are hoping that the authorities
who are in charge of the Risk department give us space,” Arturo
Biracucha, an evacuee, told the Reuters news agency .
Cotopaxi is considered one of the world’s most dangerous
volcanoes due to a glacial cover that makes it prone to fast-
moving volcanic rock and mud flows, known as lahares.
The almost 6,000 metre, snow-capped volcano, which last had a
major eruption in 1877, is close to heavily populated area
around Quito.
Authorities had already restricted access to the park that
surrounds Cotopaxi and suspended ascents of the peak, which
is popular with mountaineers.
Leave a Comment
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has declared a state of
emergency over increasing activity in the Cotopaxi volcano near
the capital of Quito.
Saturday’s decree gives authorities more flexibility in using
government funds to deal with any problems, with officials
having so far evacuating several hundred people as a
precaution.
Eruptions beginning Friday have shot ash more than five
kilometres into the sky, spreading fine grey powder over roads,
homes and cars in the region as far as the capital, 50km to the
north.
Presidential legal secretary Alexis Mera said further ash
explosions and some pyroclastic flows on the volcano’s western
slopes on Saturday led officials to evacuate some nearby
villages.
Dozens of families fled the immediate vicinity, setting up tents
and improvised camps at a higher location, where they
continued to watch the volcanic activity.
The evacuees organised themselves to discuss how to handle
the situation, feed their animals and stay warm as cold
temperatures set in.
Government authorities were on hand to discuss moving the
group to more formal shelters.
“We have come here because we saw that here were could be in
a higher location, more or less, to safeguard ourselves, all of us,
all of us who are here and we are hoping that the authorities
who are in charge of the Risk department give us space,” Arturo
Biracucha, an evacuee, told the Reuters news agency .
Cotopaxi is considered one of the world’s most dangerous
volcanoes due to a glacial cover that makes it prone to fast-
moving volcanic rock and mud flows, known as lahares.
The almost 6,000 metre, snow-capped volcano, which last had a
major eruption in 1877, is close to heavily populated area
around Quito.
Authorities had already restricted access to the park that
surrounds Cotopaxi and suspended ascents of the peak, which
is popular with mountaineers.
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