Volcano

The deadly eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in 1985 made Colombian volcanologists realize that studying natural phenomena was irrelevant if they could not share their knowledge to avoid predictable tragedies.

The Nevado del Ruiz Volcanic Eruption, also known as the Armero Tragedy, is considered as Colombia’s worst natural hazard-induced disaster which produced the deadliest lahar ever recorded. After 69 years of dormancy, the stratovolcano in Tolima, Colombia erupted in 13 November 1985 melting the mountain’s glaciers and sending lahars down its slopes at 60 kilometers per hour.

Funding challenges and security threats are hampering the monitoring of one of the world’s most volatile volcanoes – the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mount Nyiragongo – even after a May eruption cost dozens of lives.

By analyzing lava samples, researchers show how chemical processes that occur during magma’s ascent to the surface may contribute to a volcano’s eruptible state.

The recent eruption on La Palma, in the Canary Islands, has stimulated speculation that the volcano might collapse, creating a tsunami that would devastate the east coast of North and South America. But is such a scenario possible or likely?

Recognizing the importance of communication of training and awareness-raising actions, UNESCO Global Geoparks actively engage in Disaster Risk Reduction on a daily basis and are very active in the promotion of the resilience concept.

Menaced by increasingly ferocious and costly hurricanes, alongside eruptions, earthquakes and floods, Caribbean countries have made huge strides towards developing multi-hazard early warning systems (EWS).

New research indicates the cooling effect of rare, large eruptions will increase, whereas the effects of more frequent, smaller eruptions will be reduced.