13 November 1985
Thousands were killed in the eruption of a volcano named Nevada del Ruiz in northern Colombia in 13 November.
Four towns in the Andes region have been affected by the disaster as when ash spewed out of the volcano, a mudslide was produced.
Lying in a valley below the 4937m high volcano, town Armero, the province of Tolima’s second largest city, is the worst-affected area as the whole town was buried under the mud and rubble swept down on to it.
On Wednesday afternoon, the initial blast began and an evacuation was ordered but later being abandoned because the volcano went quiet at about 19 00 local time. However, just after 21 00, the real disaster struck and this time it carried mud and debris down the mountain at speeds of up to 50km per hour.
23 000 people died and thousands were injured. Many were left homeless and the area affected was extended to a large scale. The loss of property was huge due to the mudflow.
After receiving the information on the volcanic eruption, the President of Colombia immediately convened a meeting to analyze on the situation and made prompt rescue measures. Later, the President flew to the disaster zones to console the victims. The Colombian government has also appealed to the United Nations for help.
I think the residents living in the dangerous zone should stay alert and get prepared at all times. The government should not adapt a skeptic attitude when dealing with this kind of problems as when facing with natural disasters, experiences and imagination sometimes do not work. The government should also make prompt actions to save the victims and properties of the residents in order to minimize the damage from such events.
Written by:
Jia Shu Qi
Websites
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Colombia/Ruiz/framework.html, extracted 27-02-2010
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/01/18/colombia.volcano/index.html, extracted 27-02-2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/13/newsid_2539000/2539731.stm, extracted 27-02-2010
Four towns in the Andes region have been affected by the disaster as when ash spewed out of the volcano, a mudslide was produced.
Lying in a valley below the 4937m high volcano, town Armero, the province of Tolima’s second largest city, is the worst-affected area as the whole town was buried under the mud and rubble swept down on to it.
On Wednesday afternoon, the initial blast began and an evacuation was ordered but later being abandoned because the volcano went quiet at about 19 00 local time. However, just after 21 00, the real disaster struck and this time it carried mud and debris down the mountain at speeds of up to 50km per hour.
23 000 people died and thousands were injured. Many were left homeless and the area affected was extended to a large scale. The loss of property was huge due to the mudflow.
After receiving the information on the volcanic eruption, the President of Colombia immediately convened a meeting to analyze on the situation and made prompt rescue measures. Later, the President flew to the disaster zones to console the victims. The Colombian government has also appealed to the United Nations for help.
I think the residents living in the dangerous zone should stay alert and get prepared at all times. The government should not adapt a skeptic attitude when dealing with this kind of problems as when facing with natural disasters, experiences and imagination sometimes do not work. The government should also make prompt actions to save the victims and properties of the residents in order to minimize the damage from such events.
Written by:
Jia Shu Qi
Websites
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Colombia/Ruiz/framework.html, extracted 27-02-2010
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/01/18/colombia.volcano/index.html, extracted 27-02-2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/13/newsid_2539000/2539731.stm, extracted 27-02-2010
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