Restless Month Continues at Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia

Eyes are still on Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, where the volcano has been showing increasing signs of an impending eruption over the last month. Last week, the Colombian Geological Survey (INGEOMINAS) Manizalez Volcano Observatory placed the volcano on Orange Alert status, which means they expect an eruption in days to weeks. Over the weekend, there was some confusing news about whether the volcano was moved to Red Alert status (eruption in 24-48 hours), however, it looks like Ruiz was moved to Red Alert by the Colombian Meteorological Office (IDEAM) based on the threat of potential lahar generation. However, INGEOMINAS has kept the volcanic alert status at Orange. This is one of the ways that disseminating public information about the state of activity at a volcano can be problematic - if multiple government agencies can declare different alerts with the same color/number scheme, then confusion can easily arise about what ...