The Armero tragedy (Spanish: Tragedia de Armero [tɾaˈxeðja ðe aɾˈmeɾo]) occurred following the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz stratovolcano in Tolima, Colombia, on November 13, 1985.

Nov 13, 1985 · Less than three hours later, the earth rumbled as mudflows towering nearly 30 meters high swept through the countryside, several villages and eventually the town of Armero, where it killed 70 percent of the town’s residents. All-told, these mudflows, called lahars, killed more than 23,000 people.

Oct 29, 2009 · Such volcanoes are especially dangerous, because heat from the eruptions melts the ice to create lahars, or mudflows of volcanic debris. These are not slow, cumbersome mudflows, but fast, deep, and destructive walls of debris and water.

The eruption sent enormous lahars down the volcano and killed 20,000 of the 29,000 residents in the town of Armero. 3,000 other deaths were recorded in other neighbouring towns. The Armero tragedy was Colombia’s deadliest natural disaster and the fourth-deadliest volcanic event recorded since 1500.

A lahar can cause catastrophic destruction along a potential path of more than 300 kilometres (190 mi). [10] Lahars from the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption in Colombia caused the Armero tragedy, burying the city of Armero under 5 metres (16 ft) of mud and debris and killing an estimated 23,000 people. [11]

Feb 8, 2023 · In 1985, Nevado del Ruiz erupted, producing massive lahars that destroyed the nearby town of Armero and damaged Chinchiná killing roughly 23,000 people (Driedger et al 2020). This event was termed the Armero tragedy and is the second-deadliest volcanic-caused catastrophe of the 20th century.

Nov 13, 2023 · The lahar engulfed Armero, burying the town and its inhabitants under thick layers of mud. Buildings crumbled, roads were destroyed, and countless lives were tragically lost. The mudflow, moving at an astonishing speed of more than 30 …

Jan 29, 2020 · The lahars reached the town at 11.30, burying it under 5m of thick mud that was travelling at 8 metres per second. These rivers raged through the town for the next two hours, by which time 85% of the town was buried. Over 20,000 of Armero’s 29,000 inhabitants died, but not all of them immediately.

Jan 31, 2025 · On November 13, 1985, the people of Armero, a prosperous town in Colombia, were busy going about their daily lives. What Happened to Armero? At 9:09pm, Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano located 48 kilometers away, erupted. Just over two hours later, deadly lahars (mud flows) wiped out Armero. In an instant, lives changed forever.

The second major lahar, which destroyed the city of Armero, was initiated in the headwaters of two separate river channels: the Azufrado and the Lagunillas rivers. The upper Azufrado River valley is aligned with the 3-km-wide lahar-filled trench produced by previous volcanic eruptions.