ECUADOR: Thousands remain homeless as Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano continues to erupt

About 13,000 Ecuadorians remain homeless after evacuating from their ash-covered villages as the Tungurahua volcano continued to be active for a sixth day on Friday (July 21). Tungurahua, located about 80 miles (130 km) south of Quito, has been increasingly active since May, when it blew big clouds of hot gas and prompted officials to renew a limited state of emergency in nearby towns. Some 7,000 hectares are covered with spewed gas and ash, according to the Prefect of the Tungurahua province, Fernando Naranjo. "The contaminated area will have to endure a waiting period now, for the soil and the ashes to mix and some rains to come, before it becomes cultivatable again," Naranjo explained. A rain of molten rock that set fire to trees and grass over recent days now marks the volcano's strongest recorded activity since it began erupting in 1999, according to local scientists. Flows of molten rock, ash and gas have blocked roads and destroyed bridges near farming hamlets tucked in the folds of 16,460-foot (5,020-metre) Tungurahua. Gray ash covered homes and corn fields, and the bodies of dead cows and chickens lay rotting. "In the Cotopaxi province, one of our working animals was found to have the stomach totally stuffed with ashes," said Civil Defense doctor, Amparo Paredes. Paredes is assisting the evacuees sheltered in the town of Cotalo. Emergency officials are concerned the volcano's activity could increase this week, forcing other nearby towns to evacuate. So far, around 1,600 people had taken refuge in make-shift shelters, according to emergency officials, but some had ignored repeated warnings and returned home to rescue their farm animals and recover belongings. "For us is really hard to leave the lands where we've always lived," said Moises Paz who returned to his property to feed his dog and his chicken. Scientists with Ecuador's geophysics institute said there was a high risk for towns located at the foot of Tungurahua. The volcano's crater is little more than a mile (1.6 km) south of the tourist resort town of Banos whose 17,000 residents were forced to evacuate in 1999 after loud explosions and huge plumes of ash billowed out of its crater. The government made a first release of $300,000 on Monday (July 17) and President Alfredo Palacio has promised around $5.7 million in relief funds for the area. Emergency officials said shelters urgently needed more medicine, blankets and mattresses.

ITN Source | July 22, 2006

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