People living in the communities of El Manzano, Choglontus and Puela, in the province of Chimborazo, were allowed to return to their houses and normal lives on Monday. 

They had been evacuated as a precaution after the Tungurahua volcano erupted on Saturday.

Patricia Mothes, a technician monitoring the volcano at the Guadalupe station, says its activity has decreased significantly since Saturday.

“There is a low amount of seismic activity and a lower register of gases escaping the crater,” she reported. The volcano is still producing a plume of smoke a kilometre high, but it’s not worrisome, she says.

On Sunday there was no ash-fall on nearby communities. The local risk management division says there is still an orange alert. The alert level has been orange since December, when lava erupted from the volcano with no warning.