Preparing for Volcanic Eruption Saves Lives in Ecuador

The Tungurahua volcano in central Ecuador erupted in mid-August, killing five people and injuring more than 100 others. Homes and villages along the volcano's base were destroyed and roads connecting nearby communities were blocked by lava and mudflows.

It could have been much worse.

Fortunately for the affected communities, Catholic Relief Services, with funding from the European Commission and support from the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, had worked to establish evacuation routes and practiced emergency drills as part of a risk- and disaster-management project.

The 15-month project was designed to strengthen the capacity of 35 vulnerable communities — some 15,000 people — to reduce the impact of Tungurahua, one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes.

Rural communities living in the province of Tungurahua, which is named after the volcano, are made up mostly of farmers who grow produce and tend livestock on small plots, barely producing enough food for their own subsistence.

"The communities that participated in this project were selected because they are especially vulnerable to eruptions due to their proximity, their isolation and their lack of information regarding the threats the volcano presents," says Edgardo Bartomioli, CRS Ecuador project coordinator.

After 100 years of slumber, Tungurahua — located 85 miles south of the capital, Quito — erupted in 1999. Prior to the eruption, many communities had settled on the sides and area surrounding the volcano.

'Seven Minutes to Evacuate'

Smaller eruptions since then have covered those communities with ash, damaging crops and killing livestock, often the only safety net for the rural poor. "Some villages are so close to the mouth of the volcano that they only have five to seven minutes to evacuate before lava, mud and huge boulders descend upon them," says Edgardo. Making matters worse, villages at the foot of the volcano are severely isolated. In some cases, there is only one evacuation route — across a wooden bridge — leading to safety.

In the five years since the volcano spewed back to life, these communities had received little help.

"When we began the project, they had no training regarding the threats posed by the volcano in terms of ash fall, lava flows and mudslides," says Edgardo. "Communities were not organized — they didn't have a plan for staying informed about the volcano's activity and they didn't know how to safely evacuate."

Community organization and disaster-response training was therefore central to the project's success.

The project helped to establish new emergency action committees, 14-member groups charged with developing an emergency action plan. Five different emergency brigades were formed in each community: first aid, search and rescue, shelter, order and security, and communications. Each brigade's members were trained about their roles in the case of emergencies.

The committees created risk maps and emergency-route signing systems to lead people to secure areas, and made provisions for first-aid and veterinary kits. And an early-warning system, which relies on information from scientists at the Guadalupe Station — a scientific station from which volcanologists monitor and study the volcano — was established.

Under the new system, community monitors communicate with station scientists via radio. The monitors in turn relay the information to their communities through loudspeakers or during regular meetings. When there is a serious risk, they use the loudspeakers, sirens, bells and other devices to mobilize their communities.

Lessons Learned

That system worked on August 16, when numerous explosions over a period of approximately 18 hours caused flows of ash and lava, resulting in the destruction of at least three villages.

As planned, scientists from the Guadalupe Station notified community monitors about the signs of a major eruption. Based on that information, communities chose to evacuate. Within six hours, the communities closest to the mouth of the volcano were completely evacuated. Had they stayed, up to 3,500 people could have been killed in the blast.

The five deaths caused by the eruption took place in Chimborazo, a province that was not part of the CRS risk-management program.

Even communities farther from the volcano put the lessons learned to good use.

"When CRS staff visited them in shelters, they found that community members had brought and posted their emergency plans and maps," says Edgardo.

Today, CRS and its partner dioceses of Ambato and Riobamba continue to provide humanitarian assistance to people evacuated from high-risk areas. Though we managed to avoid a major loss of life, CRS plans to provide counseling, medical care, food for both people and livestock, and clean water in future emergencies. CRS is building permanent and mobile shelters for families displaced by future eruptions.