Ash from Sangay affected 35 cantons in six provinces

Constant monitoring of the situation of the Sangay volcano , in the face of the ash fall , is carried out by the National Service for Risk and Emergency Management (SNGRE) , together with the Geophysical Institute and the Integrated Security Service ECU-911 .

Ash from Sangay affected 35 cantons in six provinces

At the end of the last statement on Sunday, September 20, it was reported that 35 cantons in the provinces of Chimborazo, Bolívar, Guayas, Los Ríos , Manabí and Santa Elena were affected by the presence of ash.

In view of the situation, 11 cantonal Emergency Operations Committees (EOC) were activated : Alausí, Guamote, Cumandá, Pallatanga and Chunchi (Chimborazo); Chillanes (Bolívar); Simón Bolívar, General Antonio Elizalde, Colonel Marcelino Maridueña, Jujan y Milagro (Guayas) and Salinas (Santa Elena) . In addition , the Unified Command Post was activated in the province of Los Ríos .

The director of the SNGRE, Rommel Salazar , reported that the Emergency Operations Committees were immediately activated, to guarantee the safety protocols against the ash fall .

He pointed out that the institutions of the Decentralized National Risk Management System coordinate response actions and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the affected populations.

Juan Zapata , General Director of ECU-911 , reported that “through the single line of attention for emergencies, 911, different reports were given on the ash fall in the southern cantons of Chimborazo .”

Zapata indicated that “at the moment, there are no reports of injuries and deaths. The ECU-911 plants in Babahoyo, Guaranda, Riobamba, Samborondón, Portoviejo and Santa Elena are activated in the event of any news that arises in relation to the ash fall ”.

In Bucay and Cumandá , the closure of vehicular traffic was ordered and the opening of businesses and outdoor activities was restricted. As a preventive measure, the Guayaquil airport suspended its operations for 7 hours to clean the runways.

Technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock make an estimate of losses in crops or breeding animals. The ash fall was strongly reported in Guamote, Alausí, Chunchi, Pallatanga and Cumandá (Chimborazo); Chillanes and San Miguel (Bolívar); General Antonio Elizalde (Bucay) and Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno (Guayas) .

It was moderately registered in Simón Bolívar, Samborondón, Yaguachi, Naranjito and Milagro (Guayas); in Vinces (Los Ríos) . Slightly in Guayaquil, Salitre, Daule, Lomas de Sargentillo, Santa Lucía, El Empalme, Isidro Ayora, El Triunfo, Durán, Coronel Marcelino Maridueña, Pedro Carbo, Naranjal and Nobol (Guayas); Babahoyo, Baba, Vinces and Urdaneta (Los Ríos); Salinas, (Santa Elena) and Paján (Manabí) .

Citizens were recommended to cover the water tanks to prevent them from becoming contaminated with ash, reserve grass and water for animals in rural areas, and keep informed through official sources of the National Government .

Guayaquil airport resumes operations

Regarding operations at the José Joaquín de Olmedo airport , they resumed around 7:00 p.m., once the ash that fell on the runway , taxiways and platform was removed .

The suspension was taken because, usually, in a volcanic eruption, ash is thrown tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere, affecting the path of aircraft.

The volcanic ash is severely corrosive to sensitive parts of the engine of an airplane , because it melts causing erroneous readings and damage to the aircraft, reported the General Directorate of Civil Aviation .

In Ecuador, the DGAC’s Meteorological Watch Office , with the Geophysical Institute and the advice of the Washington Volcanic Ash Warning Center , monitor the scope, movement, trajectory, forecast and flight levels affected by the ash from the Sangay volcano . (I)