Huila eruption produces fatalities

I have been out of town for the past few days, but we do have some big (and unfortunate) news from Colombia. Nevado del Huila in southwestern Colombia erupted today and the ensuing lahar (or volcaniclastic debris flow - it is hard to tell from the reports) killed at least 4 people, and possibly as many as 10*. We know that Huila has been showing signs of activity, but now it seems like it might have had real eruption, at least to the point that a lahar was produced and possible the creation of a new summit crater. Evacuations are under way and several towns have been cut off as the lahars have destroyed bridges in the state of Cauca. I'll post more here as I find more details reports about the eruption.

* Note, this article mentions that Huila erupted in 1994, killing 1,000, which is not correct. I think they might be confusing the potential eruption at Ruiz in 1994 (that did not kill 1,000) with an earthquake in Toez, Colombia in June 1994 that did kill ~1,000.

More like this

I've found a few more details about the ongoing activity at Huila in Colombia, including a video report from the BBC. It seems that the eruption at Huila is a photocopy of what happened at Nevado del Ruiz in 1985 in its style: hot ash and gasses erupted from the crater melted ice/snow near the…
Just a brief note, but today (November 13) is the 23rd anniversary of the disastrous lahar at Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia. Over 23,000 people died when a lahar, started by a relatively minor eruption of the volcano, swept down the river valleys the side of the edifice and destroyed Armero and…
Back from Iowa, time for some volcano news. Look for the answers to your questions for Dr. Boris Behncke to get posted later this week. (And thanks for all the comments and kind words in the Open Thread. I'll start thinking about how to implement a lot of these in the next few weeks). Undated…
There has been news over the last few days of a number of volcanoes in Colombia, so I thought I'd try to gather it up here: The steaming summit of Nevado del Huila in Colombia Nevado del Huila has been ramping up its ash emissions, potentially pointing towards new eruptions from the crater dome.…