- Title: Ecuador: Ecuador's Guagua Pichincha Volcano Erupts In Spectacular Fashion
- Date: 7th October 1999
- Summary: In a spectacular display of ashes and smoke, Ecuador's Guagua Pichincha volcano erupted on October 7, sending a thick cloud of smoke over a kilometre (mile) high. The 16,000-foot (4,800 metre) Guagua belched a giant cloud of ash that hung over the volcano's crater, waiting for the wind to sweep it over the city of Quito, as is has done in the past few days. The volcanic white ash threatened to come down as a choking snow, which irritates lungs and covers cars, plants and houses. The Guagua had been under "yellow" warning since late 1998, however, the degree of activity and risks posed have recently increased, forcing authorities to upgrade its status to "orange. " The orange warning is one level below red, which indicates the Guagua could erupt in a matter of hours or days. A yellow alert means an eruption is possible in the coming weeks, months or years. Guagua Pichincha is located 12 kms from Quito, towering over a placid looking village, which suddenly has been forced to live with the reality that the town could be buried under ashes. But scientists have said that lava or molten gas clouds would not hit Quito in an eruption, but 2,000 villagers have been evacuated from farms on the slopes of the volcano. Quito, which was once the Incas' northern capital and is cradled by mountains at 9,600 feet (2,900 metres) above sea-level, is surrounded by nine active volcanoes, known as "volcano alley". Guagua Pichincha is popularly known as the "Guagua", which means "child" in the Quechua Indian language.
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- Location: ECUADOR QUITO
- Reuters ID: LDL0012BQ1GMJ
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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- Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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