Case Study: Volcano - Nevada Del Ruiz

• What happened


  1. Eruption melted ice cap on volcano summit

  2. Created mudflows/lahars towards town of Armero

  3. Resulted in at least 23,000 deaths in Armero tragedy

  4. Caused heated debate as government ignored volcanologists' warnings

  5. If warnings heeded, people could have been evacuated
• The Armero tragedy was South America's worst and globally the 4th worst volcanic known disaster
• The eruption cost Columbia $7.7bn – 20% of GDP at the time
• The lahars destroyed roads meaning the only way to help people was by air
• Mitigation


  1. Public campaign on protecting from volcanic hazards launched in 1986

  2. Hazard maps distributed in towns

  3. Education in schools on volcanic hazards and evacuation training

  4. Red cross distributed flyers with info about volcanic eruptions including information on a new evacuation system involving sirens and what to do if they heard them