Volcano that wiped out Colombian town active again

Bogotá, Colombia | AFP |

Seismic activity has increased at Colombia’s Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which killed 25,000 people in an eruption 38 years ago, authorities said Friday, warning of a “probable” new outbreak.

The 1985 eruption was considered the worst natural disasters in Colombian history and one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century.

There has recently been a “significant increase in seismic activity,” the ministry of mines said in a statement while Colombia’s SGC geological service warned of a “probable eruption within days or weeks.”

And President Gustavo Petro tweeted: “We have an orange alert due to the change in seismology at the Ruiz volcano. Mayors must prepare the protocols for this state of alert.”

According to Colombia’s UNGRD disaster risk management unit, the orange level meant the likelihood of an eruption “bigger than any in the last decade.”

The 5,300-meter (17,400-foot) colossus in western Colombia is one of the many volcanoes on the Ring of Fire, a path around the Pacific basin characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

On November 13, 1985, it erupted, emitting so much heat that it melted the snow that caps the mountain.

This triggered a cascading wall of mud that swallowed the town of Armero, killing half its population of 50,000.

The SGC said another eruption was “a probability for which authorities must be prepared.” It urged the population to remain calm but to follow updates.

© Agence France-Presse