Alert in Colombia: thousands of people are evacuated due to volcanic activity
The increased activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, located in the central mountain range of Colombia, forced the local government to order the evacuation of thousands of people of the area most at risk.
“The volcano is currently expelling steam, ash, gases. But we have complex situations: near the crater of the volcano there have been a very large number of earthquakeseven in recent days they have been more intense,” said Luis Fernando Velasco, director general of the National Disaster Risk Management Unit.
Record seismic activity recorded on Tuesday 5 thousand 200 eventswhereas before declaring the activity level orange, the volcano had an average of 50 daily earthquakes, according to the Colombian Geological Service.
On Monday, the order to evacuate the area affected 40 family units that were in the highest and closest part of the volcano, but on Wednesday morning the Geological Survey also recorded seven earthquakes greater than 2.0 on the Richter scale. The peak magnitude was 3.9, which is the highest since 1985 and higher than movements in that year when Nevado del Ruiz last erupted.
Volcano activity is monitored permanent and priority since 1985, the year in which an eruption and subsequent avalanche caused the death of around 25,000 people in the department of Tolima. Velasco explained that the 2,500 families who must now evacuate are in the areas most at risk.
The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, indicated on his Twitter account that the government is witness the situation firsthand and articulate all abilities. Meanwhile, the department of Caldas has declared a public calamity, a measure to provide resources and humanitarian aid in the face of a possible eruption of the volcano. This decision had already been adopted by the department of Tolima.
The volcano is located in the axis of the central mountain range of the country and on the border between the departments of Tolima and Caldas, at 5 thousand 321 meters above sea level. It has a glacial mass, so its activity can generate sudden thaws.
With information from AP
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Source: El Heraldo De Mexico
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