MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Correa announced the emergency during his weekly Saturday address.
According to the broadcaster, the state of emergency would allow the authorities to mobilize necessary resources and to spend government funds more effectively to cope with the eruption that began on Friday.
The government has initiated the evacuation of the citizens from the villages near volcano and imposed restrictions on entering the nearby territories.
Earlier in June, the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program reported that Cotopaxi’s activities had been increasing since April.
Cotopaxi reaches a height of 3.11 miles, it is the second highest in Ecuador and one of the highest volcanoes in the world. The most severe major eruptions occurred in 1744, 1768 and 1877.
