16,000 affected by volcanic eruption in Ecuador

QUITO (AFP) Jul 05, 2003
Some 16,000 people have been aversely affected by the ongoing eruption of Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador's central Andean region, Health Minister Francisco Andino said Friday.

Andino took a tour of the region a day after President Lucio Gutierrez declared a state of emergency in Tungurahua and Chimborazo provinces.

The 5,000-meter (16,500 feet) volcano 135 kilometers (85 miles) south of Quito, one of Ecuador's most active, has been in a state of eruption since October 1999, but entered a new phase of high activity June 5, geophysicists said.

Andino said the health ministry would send health care workers, medicine, masks, and other supplies to the region, where some 38 communities -- some of them very remote -- have been affected.

Volcanic ash "is making a big impact not only on health, but also in the economy," Andino said, pointing to a loss of crops and domestic animals.

A state of alert was declared in October 1999 after Tungurahua showed dramatic signs of eruption, with 30,000 residents and tourists in areas around the volcano ordered to leave the area.

The full evacuation took several months.

TERRA.WIRE