Ecuadorians must learn to live with these natural ‘bombs’ that are volcanoes

We Ecuadorians are rare and unique beings because we sleep “quietly” in the middle of crackling volcanoes… This is how Alexander von Humboldt, one of the great geographers of history, described us, in part. And it is that Ecuador is seismic and volcanic par excellence. According to data from the National Risk and Emergency Management Service (SNGRE), there are 96 volcanoes in the country. Of these, three are erupting, 14 active, 16 potentially active, and 63 extinct or dormant.

Its constant monitoring is key to minimizing the damage that its eruptions can cause. But, Are we really calm and have we learned to live with them or have these colossi just given us a truce? Chiles-Cerro Negro (Carchi), El Reventador (Napo), Guagua Pichincha (Pichincha), Cotopaxi (Cotopaxi), Sangay (Morona Santiago) and Tungurahua (Tungurahua) are considered the most active and are “fully” monitored by the Geophysical Institute (IG), affirms Rodrigo Rosero, deputy minister of the SNGRE.

It indicates that the country currently has a security protocol for volcanic eruptions and early warnings that was updated in 2019 to include the use of sirens in populations at risk. Throughout the country there are 205 of these devices, 152 for tsunami alerts, 26 for monitoring the rise and fall of rivers and dams, and 27 for volcanoes. These devices are linked to the ECU911.

“Unlike, for example, the Tungurahua eruption in 1999, today there is a decentralized risk system. The technical-scientific institutions are strengthened, without saying that it is the best because they must continue to be strengthened“, He says.

In 1999, says the official, what the authorities on duty did was not an evacuation of the populations at risk but an “eviction”, especially in the canton of Baños: “They took people out of their territories for six months and this broke family ties”.

Silvana Hidalgo, director of the IG, says that in those years the monitoring of Tungurahua did not fail, since alerts were generated from 1994 until months before the event. Meanwhile, in 2002 the Sangay was not monitored as much and the time to detect anomalies was reduced, the response to the eruption was late: “It is currently fully monitored.”

Geophysical Institute warns of seismic swarm and possible fall of ash from the Sangay volcano in towns of Chimborazo

To determine which are the most active volcanoes, several geological studies must be carried out that involve field visits, taking samples, mapping the volcano, dating the deposits that each one of them has produced to know the date of its last eruption. and the recurrence period.

“These studies take years. In the case of our country, we have been working on this since the 1980s. We have a kind of catalog of volcanoes and we have divided them into four types: extinct or dormant, active, potentially active and erupting.Hidalgo says. It states that a volcano can be reclassified. For example, it can go from extinct to potentially active. Everything will depend on the dates and the controls that are made.

The monitoring carried out by the technicians allows knowing an increase in volcanic activity. If the risk increases, the authorities in charge are notified so that they proceed, for example, to activate the sirens and the contingency plan of each municipality. In addition, if necessary, the green light is given for evacuations.

“In the monitoring of volcanoes, the logic is not followed that if it is in eruption, more monitoring must be done, since we must know the type of activity. For example, if the lava flow stays close to the volcano area, the danger is practically not very high. On the other hand, if we see that a volcano has large pyroclastic flows and ash falls at kilometric distances, is close to populations, the danger is higher.”, says Hidalgo.

Although a volcanic eruption can be predicted and monitored, there are records of eruptive events so fast that even with an excellent monitoring system there would not be much time to prepare, Hidalgo clarifies. He adds that the current monitoring network in the country is good and what should be sought is to maintain it through the replacement of equipment.

Reventador Volcano emits pyroclastic flows, geophysical alert

Maurizio Mulas, professor of Geology at the Faculty of Engineering in Earth Sciences of the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, affirms that Ecuadorians must learn to live with these natural “bombs” and that the only mechanism for a good coexistence is monitoring.

“Volcanoes are like people. Some have a calmer character like the Wolf, in Galapagos. But there are others that have a strong character like Cotopaxi”, he says.

According to the teacher, humans have always liked to live near volcanoes because their ashes make the soil very fertile. This is why municipalities must generate urban plans where there are maps with zones classified by colors, for example: “EIn the red zone no one should live, in the yellow and green there would be populations that must be evacuated. Cities like Quito and Latacunga should have this type of plan”.

Despite the protocols established in the country, Rosero acknowledges that it is necessary to continue working with the municipalities to update the evacuation routes and increase signage. In addition to carrying out drills: “We do not wait for volcano X to become active to carry out these activities.”

The Wolf volcano on Isabela Island, in the Galapagos, erupts; the pink iguanas live there

It indicates that 80% of the country’s municipalities already have risk management units, but they need to be strengthened, since some people who are in charge of these dependencies confuse risk management with citizen security. “There are councils that have one person in these units and others a team of 20. Also, when the mayor changes, sometimes there are setbacks.”

Several projects to specify the Risk Management Law rest in the Assembly. The regulations would improve the efforts of the councils and guarantee the resources to manage the risks in their territories. The recent flood in Quito and the heavy rains on the coast have once again put pressure on the legislature to approve the law. (I)