OCHA Situation Report No. 2
Ecuador - Volcano Tungurahua
22 August 2001


Situation

1.  The Ecuadorian Geophysical Institute reports that during last 24 hours
the Tungurahua volcano (180 Kilometers south of Quito) has intensified its
seismic activity. Due to ongoing eruptions the steam-and-ash cloud rose to
3 Kilometers above the volcano's top.

2.  3,496 families have been affected in the Tungurahua Province and 1,058
families in the Chimborazo Province (total 22,770 persons).

3.  1,150 houses have been damaged: rehabilitation cost estimated at USD
5,750,000.

4.  According to the Civil Defence, some 36,000 hectares of crops have
been destroyed (7,620 in the Tungurahua Province and 28,580 in the
Chimborazo Province): loss estimated at USD 10,975,000. The ash fall has
caused damage to 380 Kilometers of the road network: reconstruction cost
estimated at USD 2,098,000.


National response

|--------------------------+-------------------------------------|
| Ministries of Civil      | a joint mission of delegates        |
| Defence, Public Works    | visited the affected areas to       |
| Social Welfare,          | assess damage.                      |
| Agriculture and Health:  |                                     |
|------------------------------+---------------------------------|
| Ministry of Health:      | Medical assistance provided in      |
|                          | Tungurahua  and Chimborazo through  |
|                          | Health Units, supplied with         |
|                          | medicines and supported by          |
|                          | personnel from other provinces. Six |
|                          | medical teams have been equipped    |
|                          | with mobile units. In the affected  |
|                          | areas, sanitary brigades have been  |
|                          | set up.                             |
|                          | An Epidemiological Surveillance     |
|                          | System along with a Water Quality   |
|                          | Monitoring System have been         |
|                          | activated in the affected areas.    |
|                          | The  Supply Management System(SUMA) |
|                          | has been activated.                 |
|--------------------------+-------------------------------------|
| Ministry of Agriculture: | support provided in moving cattle   |
|                          | and food stocks to safer areas,     |
|                          | mainly in Riobamba and other areas  |
|                          | in the Tungurahua Province. So far  |
|                          | 6,000 animals have been moved.      |
|--------------------------+-------------------------------------|
| Ministry of Urban        | USD 84,000 disbursed to replace the |
| Development:             | zinc-roofs of 420 houses.           |
|                          |                                     |
|--------------------------+-------------------------------------|



International Response

|-------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| WFP:  | as a result of the massive destruction of crops,    |
|       | people have been left without access to basic food  |
|       | supplies thus worsening their precarious health     |
|       | conditions, already deteriorated by skin, eye and   |
|       | respiratory disorders. Food assistance provided to  |
|       | 10,000 of the most affected persons during a        |
|       | 60-day period, targeting those who have lost their  |
|       | homes, crops, animal and pastures.                  |
|-------+-----------------------------------------------------|
| WHO:  | health expert supporting the inter-institutional    |
|       | assessment team of the Ministries of Housing and    |
|       | Health.                                             |
|---------------------------------+---------------------------|



Request for International Assistance

5.  Thus far, the Government of Ecuador has not requested international
assistance.

6.  This Situation Report and further information on ongoing emergencies
are also available on the OCHA Website at http://www.reliefweb.int



Telephone: +41-22-91712 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel. +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers:
  Mr. Erik Haegglund / Ms. Masayo Kondo
  Direct tel: +41-22-917 32 99/13 83/19 97

Press contact:
  (GVA)  Ms. M. Moulin-Acedo, direct Tel. +41-22-917 31 60
  (NYC)  Ms. Phyllis Lee, direct Tel. +1-212-963 48 32


distributed by
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International Disaster Information
Volunteers in Technical Assistance
                                          web: www.cidi.org
                                     listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
comments/suggestions/requests to incident@cidi.org