Ecuadoran volcano fires up forcing 1,500 to evacuate
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QUITO, Aug 17, 2006 (AFP) - Some
1,500 people have been evacuated from the slopes of the Tungurahua volcano,
135 kilometers (85 miles) south of here, after it started spewing lava
and ash in an eruption authorities said followed a 4.7 degree earthquake.
The 5,029-meter (16,500-foot) mountain rumbled into action on Wednesday, hours after an early morning earthquake shook an area just to the southeast, Civil Defense officials said.
The 5,029-meter (16,500-foot) mountain rumbled into action on Wednesday, hours after an early morning earthquake shook an area just to the southeast, Civil Defense officials said.
Quito University's Geophysical Institute said the eruption could be bigger than one on July 14 that destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland and made some 10,000 people homeless.
"Approximately 1,500 people who had been evacuated (on July 14) had to leave their homes again in the villages of Cusua, Bilbao and Juiva, due to increased activity in the volcano," said Mauro Rodriguez, a retired army colonel in charge of the evacuation.
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Received by NewsEdge Insight: 08/17/2006 06:51:09
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