Yesterday, lahars went off at the Ecuadorian volcano Sangay. Around 10.30 am (local time) corresponding seismic signals with a low frequency were registered. The seismologists of the Geophysical Institute in Ecuador issued a warning. Since the start of the activity in May 2019, heavy rainfall has been regularly triggering lahars. The mudslides not only pose a serious danger to people living in the immediate vicinity of the volcano, but also change the hydrology of the area: water is dammed up and river water is contaminated.
The lahars are formed when water mobilizes deposited volcanic ash on the volcanic slope. The material comes not only from explosive eruptions, but also from pyroclastic flows. Currently there is a VONA warning of volcanic ash at an altitude of 6400 m.