• Home
• »  National News
• » Colombian government calls for evacuation near volcano

Colombian government calls for evacuation near volcano

By Daniel Brody, Editorial Director

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Colombian government called on Tuesday for about 8,000 people near the Galeras Volcano in the department of Nariño to evacuate the area, as an imminent eruption is feared there.

Authorities in the Nariño department had raised the threat of an eruption to a level 2 or orange alert on Monday, which means the eruption will probably happen within days or weeks.

In spite of the dire warnings, by Monday night only one family of four people had decided to relocate to the shelters provided by local committees in charge of handling natural disasters.

"Upon checking that the call to evacuate has not been heeded...we are calling once more for these communities to follow the recommendations of the authorities, and our intention is to avoid the loss of human life in the case of an emergency," Vargas Lleras pleaded.

Pasto, Nariño's capital, felt seismic shifts on Monday that registered 4.6 on the Richter scale, a sign that the volcano is on the verge of an eruption.

Galeras is one of the most active volcanoes in Colombia, and has erupted dozens of times in the last few years.

WoW Spotlight

Buena Vista singer in Bogotá

September 20, 2010

Fans of Cuban musicians the Buena Vista Social Club will be excited to hear that one of their most popular members, Omara Portuondo, will be giving a concert in Bogotá on October 1st.

"Feeling's Girlfriend" and "The Voice of Cuba" are just two of the nicknames given to the singer, who has been performing for over fifty years.

WoW News

Obama and Santos to meet

September 20, 2010

U.S. President Barack Obama will meet his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos for the first time on September 24th in New York, at a United Nations General Assembly meeting.

The two leaders plan to have a conversation about the future relationship between the two countries.

Read More