At least four people were killed and thirty listed as missing after Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano erupted early on August 17. Tonnes of rocks and ash spewing from the volcano destroyed a dozen villages, affecting almost five thousand people, and blocked three rivers. Tungurahua, which means throat of fire in the local Quichua language, became quiet the very next day. But Ecuador's Geophysics Institute fears more eruptions in the near future. Experts have urged residents and tourists to stay away from the volcano, which is about 135 km south of the capital Quito. This was Tungurahua's fourteenth eruption since 1534. Dormant for eight decades, Tungurahua rumbled back to life in 1999 and has since been active.
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