Black ash from the Tungurahua volcano shot 1.2 miles (two kilometers) above the volcano's peak today (Thursday, August 27, 2015), sending ash to nearby communities, according to volcano monitoring/reporting agencies.
There were tremors and five increasingly powerful explosions at the volcano 87 miles (140 km) southwest of Quito, between 5:57 a.m. and 8:05 a.m. Tungurahua is 16,500 feet tall (5,023 meters).
Ash was sent to the communities of Chontapamba Pillate, Bilbao and Juive Grande.
The famous tourist town of Baños is at the foot of Tungurahua. Ambato is 18 miles or 30 km to the northwest of the volcano.
A monitoring agency, IGEPN, said that a futher increase in activity could lead to "strong explosions" and "pyroclastic flows" (rivers of rock fragments and gas).
The seismic activity at Tungurahua comes five days after the U.S. Embassy's Town Meeting about the recently-active Cotopaxi volcano.
Primary source... www.volcanodiscovery.com/tungurahua/news.html