Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Alert - Ecuador - 1/2002
"El Reventador" Volcano Eruption
Geneva, 4 November, 2002


Ecuador's Volcano "El Reventador" erupted on Sunday at 7: 00 a.m local
time. The explosion which resulted in a cloud of ash and gases, covered
20,000 kilometres of land, according to local news reports. The volcano is
located 100 kilometres to the east of Quito, the capital of the country,
and very close to the country's only oil pipeline which run through the
area.

The Government has declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Napo,
Sucumbíos, Pichincha and Cotopaxi. All activities in Quito were suspended
due to the blanket of ashes that covered the city. The airport was also
closed. Although no casualties have been reported the population is being
affected by the gases and ash. It is estimated that the economic losses
will be severe as this is a high productivity area specially in the field
of cattle breeding. The road between Quito and Lago Agrio has been
severely affected by the burning ash and rocks that rolled down from the
volcano. A bridge was swept away.

Two ACT members in Ecuador, The Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI)
and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) are assessing the situation and the need
for an ACT intervention.


Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 203 6055)
ACT Appeals Officer, Elsa Moreno (phone +41 22 791 6420 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 608 81 33)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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