Ecuador volcano spurts molten rock, hundreds flee

Wed Feb 6, 2008 5:59pm EST

PELILEO, Ecuador, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Ecuador's "Throat of Fire" volcano roared on Wednesday, spurting molten rock and huge plumes of smoke that showered villages with ash and prompted the evacuation of about 1,200 people.

The volcano, called Tungurahua in the native Quichua language, is 80 miles (130 km) south of the capital, Quito. It last erupted in August 2006 and has been rumbling and belching rock, gas and ash since January.

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President Rafael Correa said the government will extend an emergency decree to quickly release more funds to help evacuees, pay for shelters and repay roads and bridges.

Volcanologists expect still stronger activity from Tungurahua, which is in the middle of an eruption cycle that began in 1999.

"This is an ongoing eruption and we still don't know the magnitude it could reach," said Hugo Yepes, the head of the country's Geophysics Institute.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN06302144._CH_.2400

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Another article (this one from AP) reports the volcano shot columns of ash miles into the air and officials ordered the evacuation of 3,000 nearby villagers. Families who refused to leave, fearing looters, were removed by force. A state of emergency already in force is to be extended for 60 days.