Banos - Increased activity at Tungurahua

If you are planning a visit to Banos, you may be interested in the following AP item.
-Peter

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano showered ash down on small villages and showed increased signs of activity, the Andean country's Geophysics Institute said Friday.

A plume of smoke spewed from the 16,575-foot volcano, located 80 miles south of the capital of Quito. Red lava was seen rolling down Tungurahua's flanks at night.

Nearby villages were not in danger, the institute said in a statement. But it warned that volcanic activity "could become more intense."

Tungurahua, which means "throat of fire" in the Quichua language, has been erupting off and on since 1999.

In August 2006 an eruption destroyed or severely damaged nearly 5,000 homes and covered some 475,000 acres of farmland with ash.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

volcano forces evacuation of villagers as precautionary measure
his morning I saw a very brief news story during the Today morning show that a "volcano 80 miles south of Quito" was having an eruption. Not sure why they weren't able to identify it as Tungurahua . . . . anyhow, above is a blurb I found online . . .

Anyone with any local updates on what's the status down there?

I'm surprised to see nobody has posted with any further updates on status of Banos and Tungurahua eruption.
Hoping all is okay w/ Roberto -- here's link to his blog >>>

http://www.banosecuador.blogspot.com/

I realize that this is a question that only a psychic volcanologist can really answer, but I'll ask it anyway. If the major eruption of Tungurahua that some have predicted occurs, how (geographically) widespread are the effects likely to be?

At best, I'd describe myself as a volcano-phile, but certainly don't have any serious knowledge about the whys & wherefores of volcanos.

The answer to how widespread the effects are going to be two-fold:

(1) how far reaching would any lava/pyroclastic flow be?

(2) how high up would the ash column go?

In a major blast (ala volcanoes in Indonesia), the ash can be thrust up to really high elevations. And once up in the atmosphere, winds can then carry the ash over a wide distance . . . . as in around the planet. Obviously what goes up, must eventually come down.

I think it was the eruption of Krakatoa in 1815 (???), 18-something that threw out such huge amounts of ash into the atmosphere that it caused climate changes around the world.

Ecuador volcano spews ash

February 7, 2008 Tungurahua volcano shot columns of ash six miles into the air Wednesday, and officials ordered the evacuation of 3,000 villagers living near its slopes.

Tungurahua, (pronounced /tʊŋɡʊˈrɑːwə/), (Quichua tunguri (throat), rahua (fire): "Throat of Fire"[2]) is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Central of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity restarted in 1999 and is ongoing as of 2008 with major eruptions on August 16, 2006 and on February 6, 2008.

Tungurahua (5,023 m) is located in the Cordillera Central of the Andes of central Ecuador, 140 km (87 miles) south of the capital Quito. Nearby notable mountains are the Chimborazo (6,267 m) and El Altar (5,319 m). It rises above the small thermal springs town Baños (1,800 m) which is located at its foot 5 km to the north. Other nearby towns are Ambato (30 km to the northwest) and Riobamba (30 km to the southwest). Tungurahua is part of the Sangay National Park.

Baños Baños is a city in eastern Tungurahua Province, in central Ecuador. Baños is the second most populous city in Tungurahua, after Ambato, the capital, and a major touristic center. It is known as the "Gateway to the Amazon," as it is located on the Pastaza River in the Amazon River basin, and has a newly paved road to Puyo.