Page "Armero tragedy" Paragraph 12

In September 1985, as earthquakes and phreatic eruptions rocked the area, local officials began planning for an evacuation.

In October, a hazard map was finalized for the area around Nevado del Ruiz.

This map highlighted the danger from falling material — including ash and rock — near Murillo, Santa Isabel, and Libano, as well as the threat of lahars in Mariquita, Guayabal, Chinchiná and Armero.

Unfortunately, the map was poorly distributed to the people at high risk from Ruiz: many survivors had never heard of it, even though several of the country's major newspapers featured versions of the map.

Henry Villegas of INGEOMINAS ( Colombian Institute of Mining and Geology ) stated that the hazard maps clearly demonstrated that Armero would be affected by the lahars, but that the map " met with strong opposition from economic interests.

" He added that because the map was not prepared long before the eruption, mass production and distribution of it in time was difficult.