After several days of seismic activity, President Gustavo Petro announced this Sunday the start of the preventive evacuations of some 40 families located near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, in the limits of Tolima and Caldas.
(Mintic activates emergency plan in response to activity on Nevado del Ruiz).
According to an extraordinary bulletin published this Monday by the Colombian Geological Service (SGC), this Sunday, April 2, 5,400 seismic events were recorded, 5 of them with magnitude 2.0. Besides, the record highlights an earthquake at 11:22 am of magnitude 2.3, located 4.3 km southwest of the crater.
The preventive evacuation of the upper part of the snow has begun. Lots of discipline and congratulations to the local risk committees.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 3, 2023
The Colombian Geological Service (SGC) maintained the orange alert this Sunday due to the activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which represents a “probable eruption in term of days or weeks”. “The record of seismicity of rock fracturing inside the volcanic edifice continues. Yesterday, April 1, 10,400 events were recorded, reaching a maximum magnitude of 3.1 ML (local magnitude) corresponding to the 10.40 am earthquake”detailed the SGC in a statement.
Last week, The Geological Service had warned of an increase in the activity of Nevado del Ruiz, which in 1985 caused the biggest natural disaster in Colombia.
(Orange alert continues due to activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano).
With an altitude of 5,364 meters, the Nevado del Ruiz caused a catastrophe on November 13, 1985 when an eruption and melting of its glaciers caused an avalanche that devastated the town of Armero (Tolima), where more than 23,000 of its 25,000 inhabitants died. .
The director of the UNGRD, Javier Pava, asked the departmental and municipal councils for risk management within the area of influence “intensify response preparation actions, including aspects such as verification and adaptation of evacuation routes, meeting points, as well as updating territorial response strategies.”
(Nevado del Ruiz: the SGC talks about the possibilities of eruption).
departments of Caldas, Tolima, Risaralda, Quindío and Cundinamarca They are under the influence of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Pava added that if the situation requires it, a regional Unified Command Post (PMU) will be installed in which the entities, municipal and departmental authorities that are part of the area of influence of the volcano will be summoned.
BRIEFCASE
With information from agencies
