Colombian authorities on Saturday recommended residents of towns close to an active, roaring volcano to evacuate in anticipation of a possible eruption.
The disaster management office said it planned to evacuate populated areas within 15 km of the main crater of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which consists of three craters in the Colombian Andes.
And recorded an increase in seismic activity in the volcano, which caused its eruption in 1985, killing 25 thousand people in the worst natural disaster in Colombia.
There has recently been a “significant increase in seismic activity,” Colombia’s Ministry of Mines said in a statement, while the Colombian Geological Service warned of a “possible eruption within days or weeks.”
This 5,300-meter-high giant volcano in western Colombia is one of a series of volcanoes that make up the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
On November 13, 1985, the high temperature resulting from the eruption of the volcano melted the snow covering the mountains around it, which led to the formation of torrents of mud that buried the town of Armero and destroyed half of its 50,000 population.
#Colombia #seeking #evacuate #residents #active #volcano