Colombia recommends evacuating towns near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano

Authorities in Colombia recommended this Saturday the evacuation of the towns closest to the Nevado del Ruiz volcanoin the west of the country, whose seismic activity could trigger an eruption.

The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) said in a statement that it was moving forward “to guarantee the preventive evacuation of the communities that are located 15 kilometers from the Arenas crater,” the main of the three of the colossus.

He added that for those who are settled within the perimeter of 0 to 15 km from the Arenas crater, “immediate evacuation is recommended,” given that the population in that area “would only have an evacuation time of approximately less than one hour.”

The evacuation will affect 28 populations of six municipalities, which are in the high risk zone.

The Nevado del Ruiz, located on the border between the departments of Tolima and Caldas, It has been on orange alert since the end of March when the daily average of earthquakes inside the volcano went from 50 to 12,000.

The Colombian Geological Service indicated in its most recent balance that “the activity of the volcano continues to be very unstable.” The seismic movements of the colossus are associated with the “movement of fluids inside the volcanic conduits,” he added.

A week ago the volcano, which in its last eruption in 1985 it left 25,000 deadregistered a strong increase in temperature and maintains a seismic activity capable of triggering an eventual eruption.

With almost 5,400 meters of altitude, Nevado del Ruiz has had small eruptions for ten years, but the geological agency has warned that “there is a probability that in days or weeks it will make a larger eruption.”

The Colombian risk entity also warned that the areas located at a distance greater than 15 kilometers from the Arenas crater could be affected by lahars, sediment and water flows that slide down the slopes of the volcanoes.

Some 57,000 people residing in the 22 municipalities closest to the volcano have already been gradually evacuated, despite the resistance of peasants to abandon their crops and animals.