Ecuador : yellow alert in the Ecuadorian provinces of Cotopaxi

rs. Cornejo suggested the public start up the contingency planning in direct coordination with the Emerging Committees of Operation of provinces involved.

She also reported that entry to the Cotopaxi National Park and the National Area of Recreation El Boliche is suspended, because of the ash fall. She added that tourists who were in the Cotopaxi National Park had already been evacuated safely.

Due to this alert, the Ministry of Tourism calls tourists and tour operators to remain alert to guidelines and recommendations provided by the Ministry of Security Coordination.

The Cotopaxi Volcano is one of the most monitored volcanoes in Ecuador, for which available resources has been allocated. In fact, the first permanent seismic station dedicated to monitoring a volcano in South America was installed on Cotopaxi, in 1976.

Since 1986, the monitoring has been permanent and currently consists of an extensive network, which ensures proper monitoring of the volcano.

The volcano is located in the southern Andes, at a distance of 60.4 km from the city of Latacunga; 83.7 km from Quito; 386.4km from Guayaquil; 433.4km from Cuenca and 1,538.4km from the Galapagos Islands.

Local airports are open and operating normally, except for Latacunga’s airport. Tourism activities are normal in the rest of the country as well as National Parks, such as: Cayambe Coca, Galapagos, Llanganates, Machalilla, Podocarpus, Sangay, Sumaco, Yasuni, Yacuri and Cajas.