The tragedy of Armero: the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz

Today I’m going to tell you a moving story that I stumbled across while researching the mountains of Los Nevados after my trip to Colombia over the new year. It concerns a 13-year old girl called Omayra Sanchez whose plight came to worldwide attention following the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in 1985.

Nevado del Ruiz (5,325m) is an active volcano in Colombia’s Cordillera Central mountain range, and the highest mountain in Los Nevados National Park. At the time of my visit, it was sufficiently active that it was considered too dangerous to climb. On my first evening in Los Nevados, we observed it belching gas from a hillside above our lodge.

Nevado del Ruiz (5,325m) erupting during my visit to Los Nevados National Park in December
Nevado del Ruiz (5,325m) erupting during my visit to Los Nevados National Park in December

In fact, on 13 November 1985 Nevado del Ruiz was responsible for South America’s deadliest ever volcano eruption, when the town of Armero 50 kilometres to the east was wiped out and as many as 25,000 people lost their lives.

The incident was doubly tragic because authorities had ample warning of an imminent eruption and its likely impact, but failed to act.

As early as December 1984, three significant earthquakes within 30km of Nevado del Ruiz’s summit led to increased volcanic activity. This included the formation of a new crater within the existing main crater, the Crater Arenas, which was observed by geologists in January 1985.

In March a UN seismologist visited and observed a 150m vapour column erupting from the mountain which he concluded was a typical precursor of “an eruption of magnitude”. Earthquakes continued through 1985 and in September a state of alert was declared after a small eruption.

In October, geologists published a hazard map that indicated that Armero could be completed flooded in the event of a major eruption. The map met with criticism for being “too alarming”.

In fact, the reality was much worse. Glaciated volcanoes such as Nevado del Ruiz are especially dangerous because the heat from an eruption melts the ice and causes lahars – deadly rivers of mud, ice, rocks and other volcanic debris. These travel rapidly and wipe out all in their path with a wall of water and debris.

Buildings of Armero buried under mud following the 13 November 1985 lahar (Photo: N. Banks / Wikimedia Commons)
Buildings of Armero buried under mud following the 13 November 1985 lahar (Photo: N. Banks / Wikimedia Commons)

And this is exactly what happened. The first eruption on 13 November occurred at 3pm, but when seismic activity returned to normal soon afterwards, authorities decided not to initiate an evacuation.

The volcano erupted again at 9pm and this is when the lahars stated racing down the mountain. 16% of Nevado del Ruiz’s surface ice was melted, releasing 43 million tonnes of water. This mixed with ash, sediment, rocks and trees during its journey east.

Sadly, a storm that evening knocked out communications, and residents were not warned of the approaching lahars until 11pm. The lahars reached the town at 11.30, burying it under 5m of thick mud that was travelling at 8 metres per second. These rivers raged through the town for the next two hours, by which time 85% of the town was buried.

Over 20,000 of Armero’s 29,000 inhabitants died, but not all of them immediately. There were many survivors who died over the next 24 hours because rescue services could not get to them. The soft mud was impossible for anyone to cross without sinking in. Neither could it support the weight of machinery that might have helped extract survivors.

One of these survivors was 13-year-old Omayra Sanchez, whose hand was spotted protruding from a pile of debris. Rescuers cleared much of the debris from around her, but they realised that her legs were trapped beneath the collapsed roof of her house, and they could not pull her out without severing them. The rescue was complicated by the fact that much of her body was underwater, and whenever rescuers pulled, the water flooded around her, risking death by drowning. Divers discovered that her legs were trapped beneath a brick door and her dead aunt’s arms were clinging to her.

Omayra Sanchez, 13-year-old victim of the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Armero (Photo: Frank Fournier / Contact Press Images)
Omayra Sanchez, 13-year-old victim of the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Armero (Photo: Frank Fournier / Contact Press Images)

Over the course of the next three days, she was given food and drink and even agreed to be interviewed and photographed. She was positive at first, but during the third day she started hallucinating. By the time French photojournalist Frank Fournier arrived on the scene and captured an iconic photograph, her eyes were red, her face swollen, and her hands whitened from the onset of gangrene and hypothermia. She died three hours later.

Fournier’s photograph was published across the world and came to symbolise the failure of authorities, first in preparing for an unfolding tragedy, and then in assisting victims who might have been saved. Omayra’s father also died in the tragedy, but her mother and brother survived. Fournier’s photo became World Press Photo of the Year.

Colombia was a highly unstable country in 1985, torn apart by years of civil war. A week before the eruption, 75 hostages, including 11 judges, died during an armed siege at the Palace of Justice in Bogotá. The country is much more stable now. I have visited twice in the last few years and found it to be one of the more developed South American countries.

But Nevado del Ruiz is still a serious threat for up to half a million people in nearby cities, towns and villages. It continues to be active, and another larger eruption remains a possibility. While I have reported elsewhere that Colombia’s glaciers are receding quickly, they are still substantial on Nevado del Ruiz, and lahars could be deadly again. Let’s hope that authorities are better prepared if the unthinkable happens again.

To learn more, there is an interesting photographic story map about the Armero tragedy here.

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4 thoughts on “The tragedy of Armero: the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz

  • June 5, 2020 at 7:41 pm
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    Good summary. If you have not read “No Apparent Danger” by Victoria Bruce, it is well worth reading. The author presents a deeply moving cautionary tale about the hubris of scientific “experts” and the foibles of government. Scientists are not immune to the frailties of other people. When skepticism is suspended and prudency – confusing reasonable precaution with panic-driven decision making all the way to dismissing and ignoring history, bad things can happen.

  • October 12, 2020 at 8:55 am
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    I have read about the tragedy in full. I was drawn to the story of Omayra Sánchez, I was left an emotional wreck after reading articles on her, viewing her photos, listening to her innocence on her goodbye interview, she was so brave, courageous and innocent. I thought of myself in her position, I don’t think I would have had her courage. Her story made me angry and sad, why do children have to die? As a father of two young daughters, Omayra’s face will be imprinted in my mind forever, I have spoken to friends about her life and story, I have then warned them not to read about her, she will haunt you forever, I still can’t believe how much she touched me. I wish we could save all children from the horrors that adults cause. We should all learn from her and just be happy and love each other. Let’s not forget her and all her fellow victims of this tragedy.
    Best wishes.
    Geoff.

  • February 3, 2023 at 4:09 pm
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    I have been reminded of this tragedy, because I wanted to share a song I had written about a friend of mine Dave Purvis, whom we believe was the only English person to perish. Dave was there on holiday, visiting a friend.

    DAVE’s Song:
    Dave was born in Newcastle on Tyne
    He had a beard, he wore glasses too.
    We met at a film class, and I played director
    He played a man who wore white shoes.
    He was the man who wore white shoes.

    Dave had a job with Brent Social Services
    He used to laugh when I called it the SS.
    He drove a battered Beetle
    He was one of those kind of people
    He never tried to impress.
    He went his own way, never trying to impress.

    When family troubles, burst my bubbles
    Dave lent an ear and then bought me a drink.
    Though our conversations were few
    In a few short weeks I knew, I’d met me a life-long friend.
    Yes, I’d just met me a life-long friend.

    Dave took a holiday to Columbia
    Sun – bathed on the beach
    And walked the countryside.
    25,000 died in Amero’s muddy grave*
    That’s what happened,
    That’s what happened,
    That’s what happened, to my friend Dave.

    Dave was born in Newcastle on Tyne
    He had a beard, he wore glasses too.
    Though our conversations were few
    In a few short weeks I knew, I’d met me a life-long friend.
    Yes, I’d just met me a life-long friend.

  • Pingback:Jak vypadá, když bouchne bahenní sopka: Voda a bahno jsou nebezpečné jako láva - 123zpravy.cz

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