Authorities and relief agencies began the evacuation of 40 families living in the high-risk area of the Nevado de Ruiz Volcano, in central Colombia, after its seismic activity increased forcing Naranja to raise the alert level in the face of a probable eruption, the Government reported.
The orange alert level was declared last week against a probable eruption in the coming days or weeks, according to the Geological Survey.
“There are people who are in areas where there is no communication, there is no way to evacuate them quickly in the face of an eventual eruption and therefore it is better to prevent,” the director in charge of the government’s National Unit for Risk Management told reporters. Disasters (UNGRD), Luis Fernando Velasco, on Monday night.
Some 57,000 people live in the area of influence of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano in 22 municipalities in the departments of Tolima, Caldas, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, Quindío and Cundinamarca.
The official explained that the families residing within a 15-kilometer radius, the area closest to the volcano’s crater, are at risk of being hit by gas flows and fragments of volcanic rocks in an eventual eruption, as well as possible lava avalanches such as it happened in 1985.
“The priority is to save lives,” said Velasco, explaining that the rehabilitation of the roads in the area affected by the rainy season will begin to expedite people evacuations before an eventual eruption, while reception centers are prepared for the evacuees.
The director in charge of the UNGRD said that another 500 families could be evacuated in the coming days.
“It is a complex task, we will insist, but we cannot forcefully remove people from their homes,” he explained, revealing that they will seek to keep children safe, while a plan to evacuate pets and animals will be implemented. They support families in the area.
The volcano, located on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima, erupted in 1985 spewing large amounts of lava and gases at high temperatures that melted the glaciers and snow, causing a huge avalanche that buried the town of Armero.
The avalanche caused the death of around 25,000 people, in the worst natural tragedy in the history of Colombia.
According to the Smithsonian Institution in the United States, the 1985 eruption was the fourth deadliest in human history.
The volcano, located in the Central Andes Mountains about 140 kilometers west of Bogotá, also erupted in 2012, generating a column 8 kilometers high and spewing large amounts of ash and gases that forced the evacuation of thousands of people. .
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
