Ecuador farmers evacuated again from volcano area

By Alexandra Valencia

COTALO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Hundreds of poncho-clad Ecuadorean peasants were evacuated from their hamlets near the roaring "Throat of Fire" volcano on Thursday only hours after they had been allowed to return to their homes.

The latest crisis at the volcano, called Tungurahua in the native Quichua language and located 80 miles south of capital city Quito, started early on Wednesday when it belched molten rock and ash, forcing more than 1,200 people to seek safety in nearby shelters.

They started returning early on Thursday but their homecoming was short-lived.

"The volcano started a new phase of intense eruptive activity," the National Geophysics Institute said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

During the cold night leading to Thursday morning, evacuees slept in schools and churches as activity at the 16,460-foot (5,020-metre) volcano slowed.

Scientists warned it remained unpredictable even as local residents tried to go back to their farms.

In 2006, streams of fast-moving molten rock enveloped several hamlets on the mountainside, killing at least four people and forcing thousands to evacuate and abandon their corn and potato crops.

The activity on Wednesday and Thursday did not harm any villagers, but molten rock flowed next to mountain hamlets through streams, emergency officials said.