A quiz question · medium
What destroyed the Colombian town of Armero on the night of 13 November 1985?
The eruption melted part of the glacier; mudflows travelled 48 km down river valleys and buried the town, killing around 23,000. Hazard maps had predicted the path.
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The Armero Tragedy of 13 November 1985, When a Predicted Lahar Killed 23,000 People When Nevado del Ruiz erupted on 13 November 1985, its melting ice cap sent lahars — volcanic mudflows — down river valleys onto the sleeping town of Armero, Colombia. Around 23,000 of its 29,000 inhabitants died. Hazard maps had predicted the flow path almost exactly; evacuation never happened.
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