The 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz

   

 The day was November 13, 1985. Armero, a town in Columbia made up of 30,000 people were off to bed. It was a peaceful, normal night, until it wasn't. At 9:09 PM, thirty miles away, Nevado del Ruiz erupted. When the volcano erupted, it caused all the snow and glaciers to melt creating a huge mudslide. The wall of mud took only two and a half hours to cover the thirty miles to reach Armero. Unfortunately, the people of Armero couldn't find safety in time. Approximately 25,000 people were killed from that natural disaster, including Omarya Sánchez, the most well known victim. 


     Omarya was a thirteen year old girl living in Armero with her parents, brother, and aunt at the time of the eruption. She became famous all around the World because of her devastating situation and how she spent her last few days on Earth. Omarya was stuck in neck high mud with no way of getting out. Her legs were crushed under heavy concrete and rubble making it impossible to free her without amputating her legs. Even if they were able to get her out, they just didn't have the resources and care with them at the time to be able to save her. After three days, Omarya Sánchez passed away on November 16, 1985. As the rescue team who stayed by her side for all those horrific hours mourned the loss of Omarya, they remembered how tough and brave she was in her final moments of life.

Comments

  1. BloggerFrom2005August 29, 2024 at 6:40 PM

    This sounds terrifying what an awful way to die, and especially at such a young age. This sounds like something from a horror movie I cannot believe this actually happened to someone.

    ReplyDelete

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