Ecuador's Volcano Rumbles, But Locals May Not Evacuate

Cotopaxi Volcano seen from Loreto del Pedregal, Ecuador, 06 September 2015. EPA/JOSE JACOME/Almay The start of the semester is always busy around here, and this year is no difference. Here's some volcano-related news that caught my eye recently: Ecuador The unrest at Cotopaxi continues and this is problematic for disaster mitigation around the volcano. The longer the volcano merely puffs out ash and steam, the more people become complacent and resistant to orders for evacuation if the activity becomes more intense. Additionally, the longer this unrest continues, the more the local economy around Cotopaxi is impacted, especially the tourist business. The area around Cotopaxi still remains at Yellow alert status due to the rumblings at the volcano, although some of the harmonic tremor associated with magma movement has decreased over the past 24 hours. Members of the USGS Volcanic Disaster Assistance Program were in Ecuador this week as well stressing ...