Nevada Del Ruiz Eruption

Question 1

How many people were killed as a result of the eruption?

Answer 1

23,000 peoples, primarily from being buried in their homes

Question 2

How many people were injured as a result of the eruption?

Answer 2

5000 people

Question 3

Which plates were involved? What type of boundary is it?

Answer 3

The Nazca plate, which is subducting below the South American plate, caused the formation of the strato volcano

Question 4

What is the nearest major town?

Answer 4

Armero

Question 5

How deep were the lahars, which ran down river valleys, and how fast did they travel?

Answer 5

Up to 40M deep

Travelled at up to 50 KPH

Question 6

What were the primary effects?

Answer 6

• Hot clouds of ash and gas (Nuees Ardennes)
• Magma thrown into the air from the vent
• Pyroclastic flows (fast travelling avalanches of hot ash, pumice and rock fragments.

Question 7

How many homes were destroyed as a result of the eruption?

Answer 7

5000

Question 8

Why were people killed by infections?

Answer 8

Because the hot temperatures of the lahars created fertile breeding grounds for fungi and bacteria, the resulting infections were incurable with available antibiotics, this meant that even people with minor cuts were killed by the infections

Question 9

What inhibited the emergency response in the affected areas?

Answer 9

Blocked roads, as a result of the eruption and the lahars in the area

Question 10

What was the total cost of the earthquake? What percentage of Colombia’s GDP did the figure constitute?

Answer 10

$7.7 Billion (20% of GDP)