Geophysical Institute warns of possible fall of volcanic ash in Morona Santiago and Chimborazo

The Geophysical Institute (IG) of the National Polytechnic School of Ecuador warned this Saturday of the possibility of ash falling from the Sangay volcano in the Amazonian provinces of Morona Santiago and the Andean province of Chimborazo.

In a report posted on its social networks, the IG reported that from 11:00 p.m. local time on Friday (04:00 GMT today) they appreciated, through satellite images, a cloud of ash heading west from the volcano .

“Consequently, there is a possibility of slight ash fall in Morona Santiago and Chimborazo provinces,” he said.

He recalled that this phenomenon has been persistent within the current eruptive period that began in May 2019 and recommended that the population take the pertinent measures and receive information from official sources.

Already in February, a strong fall of ash was registered in the town of Guamote, moderately in Colta and slightly in the parish of Cebadas, in Chimborazo, and also in three other provinces.

Located in the Amazonian province of Morona Santiago, the Sangay, 5,300 meters above sea level, is part of the fifty of this type of formations in Ecuador, most of them located in the so-called “Avenue of the volcanoes”, in the Andean zone.

There are also several volcanoes in the Amazon region and in the Galapagos archipelago, located in the Pacific Ocean, about a thousand kilometers from the Ecuadorian continental coast.

In addition to the Sangay, among the most active in the Andean country are the Reventador (in the Amazon region), the Chiles-Cerro Negro (border with Colombia), the Tungurahua and the Cotopaxi (both in the Andean center), the latter two with little activity in recent years. (I)