--- description: The president of Ecuador declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to activity at a volcano 30 miles away from the capital. title: Ecuador Declares State of Emergency Over Volcano image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e0d40cc7c2e66a/69885f8bcd1bbad0686fcc00/cotopaxi-volcano.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Ecuador](/tag/ecuador/) ## Ecuador Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ecuador Declares State of Emergency Over Volcano ## Video: TIME Explains: Sinkholes [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: Sinkholes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0WEtQ4Wa.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2013-08-13. TIME Senior Editor Bryan Walsh explains the science behind sinkholes, and why it seems like the geological phenomenon is becoming more common._  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 16, 2015 4:02 PM CUT  A view of Cotopaxi volcano spewing ashes as seen from Latacunga, Ecuador on Aug. 15, 2015. A view of Cotopaxi volcano spewing ashes as seen from Latacunga, Ecuador on Aug. 15, 2015.Dolores Ochoa—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 16, 2015 4:02 PM CUT The president of Ecuador [declared](http://www.presidencia.gob.ec/gobierno-decretara-estado-de-excepcion-por-el-incremento-de-la-actividad-del-volcan-cotopaxi/ "undefined") a state of emergency Saturday in response to volcano activity 30 miles away from the country’s capital. A few hundred people were evacuated from two residential areas as the volcano began to spew ash. In a statement on his website, President Rafael Correa said officials will continue to monitor the situation and urged the public to remain calm. The Cotopaxi volcano has been under active watch since June when increased activity was detected by the Ecuadorian Geophysics Institute. The institute says that the volcano’s frequency and style of eruptions make it one of the world’s most dangerous. The volcano’s last major eruptive period occurred in the late 19th century, according to the [Geophysics Institute](http://www.igepn.edu.ec/cotopaxi "undefined"). That incident led to intense economic losses in the region. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3999694/ecuador-state-of-emergency/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3999694/ecuador-state-of-emergency/"},"headline":"Ecuador Declares State of Emergency Over Volcano","datePublished":"2015-08-16T16:02:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:12:45.487Z","description":"Cotopaxi is one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes","url":"https://time.com/3999694/ecuador-state-of-emergency/","keywords":["Ecuador","natural disaster"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e0d40cc7c2e66a/69885f8bcd1bbad0686fcc00/cotopaxi-volcano.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12e0d40cc7c2e66a/69885f8bcd1bbad0686fcc00/cotopaxi-volcano.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ecuador Volcano Cotopaxi","caption":"Ecuador Volcano Cotopaxi","creditText":"Dolores Ochoa—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ecuador/","name":"Ecuador"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3999694/ecuador-state-of-emergency/","name":"Ecuador Declares State of Emergency Over Volcano"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: Sinkholes","description":"TIME Senior Editor Bryan Walsh explains the science behind sinkholes, and why it seems like the geological phenomenon is becoming more common.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0WEtQ4Wa/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-08-13T21:47:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0WEtQ4Wa.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3999694/ecuador-state-of-emergency/","duration":"PT1M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3999694/ecuador-state-of-emergency/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```