Summary points
Galeras Volcano, Colombia: Volcano Crises, 1988–2010+: Adverse Impacts without a Major Eruption
Lava dome growth with strong seismic, deformation and gas precursors
Vulcanian explosions with very subtle precursors and strong shocks
Fears of population early in crisis magnified by 1985 Nevado del Ruiz catastrophe
Lack of a pre-crisis hazard map led to a chain-reaction of events that culminated in an economic crisis, hostility of authorities and loss of credibility of the scientists
Important lessons for safety of volcanologists from 1993 tragedy
Continuing difficulty of compliance to evacuation recommendations
Introduction
Located in southwest Colombia, 4,270-m high Galeras Volcano rises 1,600 m above Pasto, the capital city and economic nucleus of Narino Province (Figure 1). It is the most active volcano in Colombia. Pasto is located on the eastern slope of the volcano, about 7–11 km from the crater. Its population is about 350,000, and over 50,000 more people reside in...
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Acknowledgments
We thank our highly dedicated colleagues at OV Pasto for much support, notably F. Munoz, H. Cepeda, E. Parra., D. Gomes, R. Torres. The 1989 mission to Galeras by BV, R. Janda and D. Harlow was supported by USGS and United Nations (UNDRO) funds. C. Cardenas and O.D. Cardona of ONAD provided assistance and insight. We recall the memory of colleagues and friends killed in the 1993 eruption, Geoff Brown, Fernando Cuenca, Nestor Garcia, Igor Menyailov, Carlos Trujillo, and Jose Arles Zapata, and of Bruno Martinelli, dear friend and wise advisor to the Pasto observatory scientists.
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Voight, B., Calvache, M.L. (2013). Galeras Volcano, Colombia. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_349
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