Environmental Dangers:

What are the Environmental Dangers of Nevado del Ruiz?

Just as any other volcano, there are many dangers and threats that coincide with Nevado del Ruiz. When this volcano erupts, it can destroy everything in its path for miles. In the 1985 eruption, Nevado del Ruiz projected a huge downpour of ash on Armero, Columbia, and within and hour, a 130-foot wall of ash and mud swept through the city. This concrete flow destroyed homes, cities, cars, people, and many of the natural resources surrounding the area such as trees and crops. When the volcano erupts, pyroclastic flows can also melts snow on the mountain’s icecap and can send floods and mud flows down valleys. These Debris/mud flows create paths for the flows on the sides of the volcano known as Lahars. The eruptions also saturate and loosen the soil, and fill the air with ash and debris. The volcano poses the threat of mass destruction to the population and the environment in the surrounding area. There have been many lives lost, communities destroyed, and cities buried alive with the Nevado del Ruiz eruptions.