Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia.
The site of one of the most catastrophic volcanic events of
the 20th Century.
On November 13th, 1985 at approximately 9:30pm an eruption
at the summit had melted much of the accumulated ice. This generated lahars
(volcanic mudflows) that sped down the mountain at 50 mph.
The first victims were in the town of Chinchiná where
more than 1,000 died in less than 60 seconds.
By 10:50 pm the flows had reached the town of Armero.
In total, it has been estimated that in excess of 23,000 people
perished as a result of the eruption.
The eruption was of magnitude 3 on the VEI scale.
Eruptions of similar magnitude had previosly occured in 1845
and 1595.
A gripping account of the eruption is presented in the book
"No Apparent Danger" by Victoria Bruce.
The stamp below was issued January 15th, 1954.
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