Red Alert at Copahue Volcano: Argentina and Chile Order Evacuation

Chile and Argentina order evacuation of 3,000 people living near Copahue

Argentine and Chilean authorities have issued a red alert, fearing that the volcano could erupt imminently.

The mandatory evacuation order covers all residents living within a 25-km radius of Copahue.

The 2,965m tall volcano began spewing volcanic gasses Friday amid heightened seismic activity, with volcanic tremors occurring at an average rate of about 450 per hour.

Copahue volcano sits in the Biobio region of Chile, straddling the border with Argentina’s Neuquen province.

This photo released by the Government of Neuquen, Monday, May 27, 2013, shows a plume of ash and smoke rise from the Copahue volcano, as seen from Caviahue, in the Argentine province of Neuquen, Friday, May 24, 2013.  (AP Photo/Government of Neuquen, Tony Huglich)

[NOTE: The most probable outcome over the next 96 hours or so can be deduced from the photo.]

Related Links

• ‘Red’ Alert at Copahue Volcano December 24, 2012
• Volcanoes in a Dozen Global Regions Erupting May 19, 2013

• Volcanoes [FEWW Links]
• Earthquakes
• Volcano Watch Weekly [6 May 2009]

Flooding and Landslides Affect Thousands in Colombia

Disaster Calendar 2012 – April 9

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,437 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

First rainy season of 2012 affects 12,000 people, leaving 10 dead or missing

At least 10 people are dead and more than 12,000 affected by flooding and landslides following this year’s first rainy season, Colombian government said.

• Bogota, Colombia.   Flooding and landslides caused by the region’s first rainy season have left at least 10 people dead or missing and affected more than 12,000 so far this year, Colombian authorities said.
  • Extreme rain events have deluged the Bogota metropolitan area and about 70 other municipalities across 23 departments (states) since January.
  • More than 2,300 homes, schools and public buildings, as well as dozens of roads bridges and other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.

Significant Events

• Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia.   A ‘Red Alert’ has been issued for the central Colombia Nevado del Ruiz volcano because the authorities believe an eruption is imminent.
  • The highest alert was issued “for the rivers that descend from the Nevado del Ruiz volcano because of a change in eruption threat and the heavy rains that have occurred in the area,” said Colombia’s meteorological institute IDEAM on Sunday.
  • The alert covers  residential areas  near a dozen rivers and streams in several departments in Colombia’s Midwest region due to ongoing extreme rain events.
  • The volcano was placed on ‘Orange Alert’ on March 31 due to increased seismic activity.
  • The deadliest eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz occurred in 1985, when lahars killed more than 25,000 people and injured more than 5,000 others, destroying thousands of homes, erasing the town of Armero in Tolima department and causing substantial damage to the town of Chinchiná in Caldas.

Nevado del Ruiz threatens to erupt. The volcano sits on the border of Caldas and Tolima departments about 130 km (80 mi) west of Colombia’s capital, Bogotá.  Photo credit: Jhon Jairo Bonilla/El Tiempo

Río Lagunillas, former location of Armero

Within four hours of the beginning of the eruption, lahars had traveled 100 km and left behind a wake of destruction: more than 23,000 people killed, about 5,000 injured, and more than 5,000 homes destroyed along the Chinchiná, Gualí, and Lagunillas rivers. Hardest hit was the town of Armero at the mouth of the Río Lagunillas canyon, which was located in the center of this photograph. Three quarters of its 28,700 inhabitants perished. Source: USGS.  Photo:  J. Marso, taken in late November 1985

Volcanic hazard map for Nevado del Ruiz. Lahars from 1985 eruption shown in red. Source: Wright, Thomas L. and Pierson, Thomas C. (1992); via Living with volcanoes, USGS.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun

Galeras Erupts Again!

Galeras forceful eruption prompts evacuation

Galeras, a stratovolcano, located near the regional capital city of Pasto in southwest Colombia and close to the border with Ecuador, erupted again on Saturday, prompting the authorities to issue a “red alert” for the area. An evacuation order was issued for about 8,000 people who live in the vicinity of the volcano.

Galeras, seen from the city of Pasto.  Credit: Henry Ernesto Escobar Meneses

The Colombia Institute for Geology and Mines said the blast occurred at about 12:10 UTC Sunday. No fatalities or injuries were reported.

According to the local government  “large amount of ash” was falling on Pasto.

The 4,270-meter volcano has been an active volcano for about a million years and is considered the most active volcano in Colombia. In 1991 it was designated a Decade Volcano due to its proximity to the city of Pasto.

Galeras is seen here from the south on March 17, 1989, with steam clouds pouring from vents on the large central cone near the back headwall of the caldera, whose south rim forms the ridge in the foreground. Major explosive eruptions since the mid Holocene have produced widespread tephra deposits and pyroclastic flows that swept all but the southern flanks.  Photo by Norm Banks (U.S. Geological Survey). Caption: GVP.

On January 14, 1993, during a Decade Volcano conference in Pasto, a group of unfortunate scientists launched an impromptu expedition to the volcano’s crater. Shortly after their arrival, Galeras erupted killing six scientists and three others.

In the 20th century Galeras underwent several episodes of unrest including those in December of 1923, October of 1924, October of 1932, February of 1936, July of 1947, January of 1950, February 1974, February of 1989, January of 1990, January of 1993, March of 2000, June of 2002, July of 2004, November of 2005, October of 2007, and several episodes in 2008 and 2009.

UPDATE: February 20, 2009

Authorities in the south of Colombia are on high alert after the Galeras volcano Friday erupted again. Colombia Reports. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• FEWW Volcano Index
• Earthquakes

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