CANADA: After rumbling and belching ash, the Cotopaxi volcano was silent Sunday, hours after Ecuador declared a state of emergency and fearful residents were evacuated.
“Monitoring of the Cotopaxi volcano last night and this morning indicated no increase in activity,” Ecuador’s Ministry of Security Coordination said in a statement.
The agency is the only source authorized to speak on the matter after Ecuador issued a “preventative censorship,” which President Rafael Correa defended as a means of avoiding false rumors that could unleash panic.
Most of the evacuees live along Cotopaxi province’s river communities and remained in shelters.
The volcano started to stir Friday, registering several small eruptions and angrily shooting plumes of dust and ash eight kilometers (five miles) into the sky.
Cotopaxi, which towers to 5,897 meters (19,350 feet) high, is considered one of the most threatening volcanoes in the region — both because of its size and because it is so close to well-populated towns.
