An unexpected eruption at 6:47 a.m. Sunday by the Tungurahua volcano raised the alert level in the volcano’s surrounding areas to orange.

According to reports by the geophysical institute of the National Polytechnic university, the sound from the explosion could be heard in Ambato, Riobamba, and even as far way as Guayaquil, Guayas.

The report states that at 6:51 a column of ash began to form, and had grown to a height of 8.3 km by 8:42 a.m.

By 11:00, it was still possible to feel the heat emanating from the mudslide that had reached Los Pajaros, an area that lies by the Northern entrance into the city of Banos. Due to this the mudslide, local authorities restricted citizen access to the area.

Authorities also temporarily closed down the hot water springs of El Salado, due to a small rise in the water level of the river Bascun caused by the volcanic mud flow. The city’s Committee for Emergency Operations restricted access to the Cahuaji-Cotalo highway.

Further reports from the Geophysical Institute indicate that the city of Quito was affected by the volcano’s ash emissions. Other sources state that the volcanic ash could also be found in the province of Manabi.

In Pillate, citizen Martha Real found that debris from the eruption had broken through the windshield on her Toyota. She and her children spent the morning clearing away the ash and volcanic rocks that had settled on and around her house.

Other residents of the Tungurahua area, however, say that they have become used to these “volcanic tantrums”, and spent their morning unconcernedly playing volleyball on a nearby court, after clearing it of volcanic deposits.

Hugo Merino, provincial director of the national risk management secretariat (SGNR) says that the eruption came without warning. “This happened to us a few years ago, and today it has happened again. We cannot become careless, and this is why we have asked people to move their herds down to the areas that we have set aside for this purpose.”

Rosa M. said she was in Riobamba when she heard the explosion. “I had to leave as quickly as possible to get to Bilbao, where I keep my animals. The volcano had been calm, which is why we did not expect this to happen. They told us we have to get our flocks out of there, but the roads are in awful shape because of recent rainfalls, as well as from the ice. I’m not sure how we’re going to get across them.”

From 3 p.m. on Saturday up until the eruption occurred, 266 periods of prolonged seismic activity were detected, with an average of two events per minute.

Original story