alert level and what we know about its activity

( Spanish) — For a few days, Colombia has increased its attention to the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which is located on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima.

The country’s authorities have been monitoring the situation since last March 30, the Colombian Geological Service (SGC) and the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) reported that the risk level of the volcano was raised to orange due to that its activity suggests a probable major eruption in terms of “days or weeks”.

This Monday, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, held a staff meeting to supervise a contingency plan, the president announced on Twitter.

At least 40 families have been evacuated since Monday, while hundreds more have been advised to stay alert if emergency sirens indicate an eruption is underway, according to the government.

Precisely, Petro informed via Twitter on Sunday night that the preventive evacuation from in “the upper part of the snowy”.

The Nevado del Ruiz, which has had minor eruptions in the last 10 years, is known worldwide for its eruption on November 13, 1985, which affected the town of Armero. On that occasion, the volcano released rivers of volcanic material and mud that devastated everything in its path. The Government of Colombia recorded at that time that the tragedy left nearly 25,000 dead.

The authorities have mentioned that the population should remain calm, but be informed of any change in the situation. Therefore, we present you with the most recent details of the volcano’s activity.

Alert level of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano: orange

As mentioned above, on Thursday, March 30, the Colombian authorities raised the volcano’s risk level to orange.

“In this case, the orange level is equivalent to the fact that, given the changes registered in the volcano’s activity, there is a probability that in days or weeks the Nevado del Ruiz volcano will erupt more than it has in the last decade” , explained the SGC and the UNGRD in a joint statement.

In a update posted this sunday morningthe SGC indicated that the orange level will remain for several weeks even if the activity of the volcano decreases compared to its state in previous days.

“To change the level and return to the yellow level, a prudential time is required where trends and patterns can be observed that allow us to infer the possible decrease in activity,” he said in the update.

On the other hand, the Caldas Environment Secretariat reported on Friday, March 31, on Facebook that, based on the increase at the orange level, it decided to close the Los Nevados National Natural Park and begin the evacuation of the “areas surrounding the volcano, particularly the riverside or ravine areas.”

What would raising the alert level mean?

If the volcano’s processes accelerate and suggest an imminent eruption, or if it erupts, the alert level will be changed to red, according to the SGC, which also indicates that “The eruptive phase, whether explosive or effusive, may be composed of several episodes “.

at the level of Red alertthe preparation and response time is very short, so it is necessary to be attentive to the information to know how to act.

What we know about his activity

Currently, a higher than unusual seismic activity has been registered in the Nevado de Ruiz, as well as the expulsion of gases and ash.

On March 30, 9,600 earthquakes were recorded due to rock fracturing inside the volcano.

Meanwhile, this Saturday, April 1, the record was 10,400 earthquakes. That day, said the SGCwas the “highest seismic energy released since March 24.”

Also this Saturday, the maximum height recorded for the column of gases or ash from the volcano was 1,200 meters from the top of Nevado del Ruiz.

Here you can review the areas where there could be greater impact in case of a major eruption.

Remember that you can follow all the updates in this article or on the SGC page by clicking here.

With information from Marlon Sorto, Wilson Barco, Federico Jofre and Stefano Pozzebon, all from .