![]() ![]() Its lahars were the deadliest in volcanic history. It was the fourth-deadliest eruption recorded since 1500 AD. Colombia's worst natural disaster, the Armero tragedy (as it came to be known) was the second-deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century (surpassed only by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée). The death toll was increased by the lack of early warnings, unwise land use, as villages were built in the likely path of lahars, and the lack of preparedness in communities near the volcano. The Colombian Congress criticised scientific and civil defense agencies for scaremongering, and the government and army were preoccupied with a guerrilla campaign in Bogotá, the national capital. He said that the short time between the map's preparation and the eruption hindered timely distribution. Henry Villegas of the Colombian Institute of Mining and Geology stated that the maps clearly demonstrated Armero would be affected by the lahars, but had "met with strong opposition from economic interests". The map was poorly distributed to those at greatest risk: many survivors said they had not known of it, though several major newspapers had featured it. A hazard map was prepared in October it highlighted the danger from falling ash and rock near Murillo, Santa Isabel, and Líbano, as well as the threat of lahars in Mariquita, Guayabal, Chinchiná, and Armero. ĭuring September 1985, as earthquakes and phreatic eruptions rocked the area around the volcano, officials began planning for evacuation. There had been no substantial eruption of the volcano since 1845, which contributed to complacency locals called the volcano the "Sleeping Lion". Loss of life was exacerbated by the authorities' failure to take costly preventive measures in the absence of clear signs of imminent danger. Formerly in the center of this area, the town of Armero was buried by thick volcanic mudflows in 1985. In total 23,000 people were killed and 13 villages in addition to Armero were destroyed. Another lahar killed 1,800 people in nearby Chinchiná. Traveling at 6 meters (20 ft) per second (~13.5 miles per hour, ~22 km/h), the first pulse enveloped most of the town of Armero, killing as many as 20,000 people the two later pulses weakened buildings. One lahar, consisting of three pulses, did most of the damage. At 9:09 pm of that evening, pyroclastic flows exploding from the crater melted the mountain's icecap, forming lahars which cascaded into river valleys below. On November 13, 1985, the volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupted. ![]() Sánchez has been remembered in music, literature, and commemorative articles. It was later designated the World Press Photo of the Year for 1986. Her death was used to dramatize allegations of the failure of officials to respond correctly to the threat of the volcano.Ī photograph of Sánchez taken by the photojournalist Frank Fournier shortly before she died was published in news outlets around the world. After 60 hours of struggling, she died, likely as a result of either gangrene or hypothermia. Her plight was documented by journalists as she transformed from calmness into agony while relief workers tried to comfort her. Volcanic debris mixed with ice to form massive lahars (volcanically induced mudflows, landslides, and debris flows), which rushed into the river valleys below the mountain, killing about 25,000 people and destroying Armero and 13 other villages.Īfter the lahar demolished her home, Sánchez was trapped beneath the debris of her house, where she remained in water for three days, as rescue workers did not have any way to render life-saving medical care if they amputated her hopelessly pinned legs. The landslide was caused by the 1985 eruption of the volcano Nevado del Ruiz in Armero, Tolima. Omayra Sánchez Garzón (August 28, 1972 – November 16, 1985) was a Colombian girl trapped and killed by a landslide when she was 13 years old. ![]()
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