Nevada del Ruiz

The Nevada del Ruiz eruption, 1985

Background

Nevada del Ruiz is a volcano in the Andes mountains in Colombia, South America. The town of Armero was the most badly effected town, it was located around 45km away from the summit of Nevada del Ruiz. Collisions of the Nazca and South American plates caused the volcano to be formed. Before the eruption there were reports of steam and gas being emitted from the volcano.

The Eruption

When the eruption happened the lava was not the main death threat. Snow and ice were near the crater and the heat melted these turning them into water. The new flow of mass water also cause land slides which were the main killer. The water, landslides mixed with heavy rain was too much for the banks of the river Lagunillas. This added to the problem as now lots and lots of water mixed with ash and some lava moved down towards Armero.

Damage

The water and ash mixture flow through the Armero, this mixture hardened and acted like concrete. Destroying buildings easily and wiping out around 80% of Armero. Building made of heavy concrete were no match for the flooding. Once the ash and debris dried it created a 8 metre high wall which had the properties of concrete…

Aftermath

The volcanic eruption devastated the town, ¾ wiped out and thousands dead, people crowded onto roof tops awaiting rescue but the steady mud slicks and floods made it very difficult for rescuers to reach them. Eventually when rescuers arrived they could only spend an hour in Armero as floods persisted…

After the event

After the eruption farm land around the volcano was very fertile due to the ash, extra measures where also set in place to help eruption victims in developing countries. The ‘Volcano Disaster Assistance Program’ was set up. The VDAP helps to reduce fatalities in volcanic eruptions in less fortunate countries…

Pictures

Credits

Made by me… Thanks to google.com for all the pics =P

Mr Manson says . . . .

• Some good work and information Stephen – maybe you cram a little bit too much onto the slides but some good work and effort – well done • A2