As Colombian volcano rumbles to life, villagers resist evacuation

World

Published: 2023-04-11 10:44

Last Updated: 2024-03-27 22:02


As Colombian volcano rumbles to life, villagers resist evacuation
As Colombian volcano rumbles to life, villagers resist evacuation

Smoke billows from the crater of a snow-capped Andean volcano, reminding local inhabitants of the threat of another potential deadly eruption.

Yet at the foot of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in the Colombian Andes, thousands of villagers are staying put to tend to their crops and pack animals, despite an urgent call from the government to evacuate.

Luis Canon admits he is afraid but says he sees no other option than to "resign" himself to his fate.

"If you leave things here, the crops, the animals, when you come back there is nothing," the 50-year-old, dressed in a traditional hat and poncho, told AFP.

The eruption threat has loomed since the end of March when the number of daily tremors within the volcano shot up from 50 to 12,000.

The government raised the alert level from yellow to orange and ordered the evacuation of 7,500 people living in the foothills and flanks of the volcano.

But that did not convince many of those dwelling in danger zones to leave.

"The villagers have cows, horses, sheep, goats and poultry, and that in some way prevents them from moving and taking part in the preventative evacuation ... because of the fear that they will be stolen," said presidential adviser Luis Fernando Velasco.

So the government said it was adopting "exceptional measures to move around 80,000 animals ... away from the alert zone."

More than 57,000 people live in areas that could be affected by a new eruption.