Ecuador: A volcanic thunder, ash cloud falls in many places

An ash cloud caused by the strong activity of Sangue, a volcano in central Ecuador, affected four cities in the country on Wednesday, we learned from an official source.

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“Light ash falls were reported in the provinces of Guamote and Cumanda in Chimborazo province,” the National Risk Management Secretariat (SNGR) said in its X report.

“Grey falls were recorded” at Naranjito y Milagro on the Pacific coast in Guayas province (southwest), two hundred kilometers from the volcano, SNGR added during the day.

A total of 400,000 people live in these four regions.

Strong explosions were heard in five neighboring provinces around the volcano, and even as far away as Quito, prompting the volcano’s “strange” activity, with up to 15 eruptions per minute for 19 hours, according to national media.

Images broadcast by the same media showed vehicles covered in volcanic dust and farmers clearing their crops.

The 5,230-metre Sangae has been erupting continuously since 1628, according to the National Institute of Geophysics (IG). The ash cloud, at a height of 3 km, was moving “towards the provinces located west of the volcano”, west of Ecuador, the IG added.

Along with Sierra Negra and Chiles-Cero Negro, two other volcanoes, Sangay, remain on yellow alert despite increased activity, while neighboring Reventador is on orange alert.

On Tuesday, residents in several neighboring regions heard “roars” and “commotions” due to the activity of the stratovolcano, located in Morona Santiago province, about 200 km east of the capital Quito, the geophysical agency said.

This phenomenon, which has already occurred in the past, allows sound to spread to distant regions due to specific atmospheric conditions.

Located in a national park, Sangay’s activity is little known because it does not affect populated areas, according to the IG, a volcano like Tungurahua, whose slopes shelter many towns.