The Cotopaxi volcano, located in Ecuador, about 45 kilometers south of the capital Quito, showed “continuous” emission of gases and ash on Friday in a new eruption process of reduced intensity that began in late October, announced the Institute of Geophysics (IG) in National Polytechnic Faculty.

Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador Photo: Juan Diego Montenegro/AP/Profimedia

Cotopaxi, Ecuador’s second-highest peak at 5,897 meters, erupted on Friday, spewing a permanent plume of gas and ash that reached 1,500 meters above the crater and was moving northeast, EFE and Agerpres news agencies reported.

Since the beginning of this new eruption process, Cotopaxi has periodically thrown ash, most recently on Wednesday evening, when this phenomenon was associated with a shock (seismic signal) of low intensity coming from inside the volcano, recorded by IG stations near the massif.

A light ash fall was reported Thursday in rural communities in the Andean province of Cotopaxi near the volcano, such as Mulalo and Pastocalle, while the smell of sulfur was felt in other nearby areas.

Evacuation drills are planned for January 27 in several areas of the Los Chilos Valley in southern Quito in anticipation of a possible escalation of the explosions.

Cotopaxi is one of three volcanoes currently erupting, along with El Reventador, 90 kilometers east of Quito, and Sangay, located in the southern Andes of Ecuador, in the Amazonian province of Morona-Santiago.