Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 13, 2010

The Armero tragedy was the major consequence of the November 13, 1985, eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Tolima, Colombia. After 69 years of dormancy the eruption caught nearby towns unaware, even though the government had received warnings to evacuate the area from multiple volcanological organizations when volcanic activity had been detected in September 1985. As pyroclastic flows erupted from the volcano's crater, they melted the mountain's glaciers, sending four enormous lahars (volcanically induced mudslides, landslides, and debris flows) down its slopes at 60 km per hour. The lahars picked up speed in gullies and coursed into the six major rivers at the base of the volcano; they engulfed the town of Armero, killing more than 20,000 of its almost 29,000 inhabitants. Photographs of the lahars and the impact of the disaster captured attention worldwide and led to controversy over the degree to which the Colombian government was responsible for the disaster. (more...)

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