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On November 13, 1985, the people of Armero, a prosperous town in Colombia, were busy going about their daily lives. At 9:09pm, Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano located 48km away, erupted. Just over two hours later, deadly lahars (mud flows) wiped out Armero and killed almost 25,000 people. In an instant, lives were changed forever.
Visiting Armero
Today, the ruins of Armero are open to visitors willing to learn about this tragedy. Throughout what was once an important cotton producing town, locals offer tours of the ruins and sell DVDs telling the story of Armero. A few of the guides are survivors while others are given by people who have no connection to the town. The fees for tours of the site are reasonable. Also, vendors around the ruins offer ice cream and cold drinks to visitors.
The ruins are spread out over a large area. To get a good look at them, you’ll need your own car or to hire transportation. I wouldn’t recommend walking the ruins because it will take a full day and the weather can be extremely hot.
Visitor Center and Museum
The best place to start your tour of Armero is at a small visitor center and museum along the main road. It was built on the site of the fire station. There, you can get a quick overview of what happened before, during, and after the eruption from a former resident of the town.
The museum is located on a road with other ruins. Another smaller museum and visitor center that we decided not to visit sits nearby.
What Happened?
At the museum, we learned that earlier on the day of the eruption at 3pm, ashes began to fall from the sky and cover cars and homes. People weren’t worried because for years the government had told them the town was not at risk from a volcanic eruption. Schools had also taught locals that Nevado del Ruíz wasn’t even a volcano at all. This was a tragedy of ignorance, and not of nature.
While the volcano was erupting, another town nearer to the volcano, Libano, phoned Armero. The people of Libano told them of a terrible sound coming from the volcano and warned their friends and family to evacuate as soon as possible. Most residents were completely unaware of the eruption.
Meanwhile, Ramón Rodríguez, the mayor of Armero, was pleading for help. Rodríguez had been trying to get the attention of the Colombian government for several months but nobody would listen. He called the governor of Tolima who was playing pool at the time of the eruption and refused to pick up the phone, calling Rodríguez “the crazy mayor from Armero”. The mayor was reportedly swept away by the mud while on the phone calling others.
As people began to become aware of the danger, panic ensued. Cars were traveling in every direction, some running over people and killing them well before the mud reached the town. Others fled to higher ground, especially Alto de la Cruz, where almost 3,000 people were saved. In the end, almost 25,000 people were dead, with thousands of others missing. Between ½ and ⅔ of the town’s population was gone.
Aftermath
After the disaster, other countries sent aid and supplies to Colombia. Refugee camps were set up and rescue efforts began. At the same time, residents of nearby towns came to loot and steal whatever they could find in Armero. Many of the buildings were still intact, so any valuable housing materials including windows and roofing tiles were stripped. Jewels, money, and other valuables were taken off dead bodies and out of homes. Even the cemetery wasn’t off limits, as tomb raiders cracked open tombs to steal valuables buried with the dead.
Years later, many survivors still haven’t located other family members and friends who were registered as survivors. Reunions occur every year. Sadly, nearly 250 children thought to be orphans were adopted by other families while their blood relatives are still searching for them to this day. It’s a tragedy that will never end for the majority of survivors.
Our Tour Guide
Also at the museum, we were fortunate enough to meet Fernando, a survivor from that day. He offered to give us a tour of the town and tell us his personal story of what he saw that day and how he survived. The tour had no cost and was based on tips. We gave Fernando COP$30,000 for the two hours he spent with us.
Main Highway
The first part of the tour was a drive along the main highway through town. The highway connects Mariquita to the north with Ibagué to the south. After the disaster, it had to be rebuilt almost two meters above its original level. Workers reported finding body parts and bones during the reconstruction, and reported a terrible stench of death. Officials decided to raise the road level and bury whatever they found under the road to finish the construction as quickly as possible.
Factory
Next, we drove down one of the main roads through town, first past what was once a children’s park with a small zoo, then to the remains of a large factory. It was at this factory where the lahars hit the building and split in two, preventing further devastating destruction.
Casa del Árbol
After turning around, we followed a road into what was once a residential area. Fernando pointed out a storefront and the now infamous Case del Árbol.
In the Case del Árbol, which has a tree growing from it, an RCN reporter once entered looking to find paranormal activity. She was dragged down by her ankles and pelted by rocks as her camera crew was filming.
Carmen Church
A couple blocks away are the remains of the Carmen Church (Iglesia El Carmen). A shell of the rear of the church remains intact. Fernando told us that sometimes cameras pick up ghosts walking alongside the church.
On the road next to the church are several houses. On one of them, you can clearly see the level of the mud from the lahar. A ghost of an old woman walking with a child has been seen along that street.
Along the same street, we noticed the ruins of a house with 11 names painted on a wall. Four phone numbers were listed in case anyone passing by had any information on those 11 people.
Hospital San Lorenzo
Next was one of the eeriest experiences on the tour. We visited Hospital San Lorenzo, which is located on the main highway.
I walked through the hospital with Fernando as huge bats flew around us. He took me to a room in which paranormal activity has been well documented, but my camera didn’t pick up anything unusual.
Founders Park
From there, we crossed back over the main highway and into the heart of Armero, driving on the town’s original roads. We stopped at the main plaza, Founders Park (Parque Los Fundadores), where a monument stands in memory of the town and victims.
On one side of the plaza is a large cross and statue of Pope John Paul II, who visited Armero about seven months after the disaster. The cross marks the spot where the pope prayed and declared the city a holy site.
There are several memorials that look like tombs surrounding the plaza. Fernando said nobody is buried in them, but it still felt like we were in a large cemetery.
Also interesting is a tree that Fernando said was completely wiped out by the mudslides, but grew back in exactly the same spot and the same form as the original tree.
Church
The main church was located on Founders Park. There’s nothing left of the church, but the copula sits in large pieces out front. The copula was found in a field over 2km away after the disaster.
Bank Vault
A branch of Banco de Colombia, now Bancolombia, was also on Founders Park. Nothing is left but the vault, which survived the disaster completely intact. Thieves came the day after to try and break into it, but couldn’t make a dent. Eventually, equipment was flown in from the United States and all the money was recovered by the bank.
Businesses
From there, we went to the scene of another tragedy, passing through a forest where buildings once stood. Every few yards we would pass a rock with the name of the business that was located on the spot at the time of the disaster.
Boulder
At the end of the road, we came to a gigantic boulder that Fernando said many people blamed for the destruction of Armero. The boulder once sat at the volcano’s crater and came tumbling down with a lahar, destroying everything in its path. It crashed into the police station, killing 33 police officers. A memorial sits nearby.
Omayra Sánchez
We turned around and went back through the plaza to the other side of Armero, stopping at a parking filled with cars. After passing through a small gate, we came to a shrine for a 13 year old girl named Omayra Sánchez. Omayra was born in Armero on August 26, 1972, and died three days after the disaster. A cross marks the spot where she died.
Reporters discovered the girl trapped beneath the rubble of her house in water that was up to her neck. Her legs were trapped by concrete and it would have been impossible to save her without amputating them. She talked to reporters for three days, asking for food and water, and remaining generally upbeat. Sometimes she would sing or laugh, and other times she asked to be left alone. Omayra died at 10:05am of either gangrene or hypothermia.
A photograph of Omayra taken by photojournalist Frank Fournier made Omayra the face of the disaster around the world. The photo later won World Press Photo of the Year.
Visitors have created shrines to Omayra and have left thousands of offerings of thanks. Fernando said there is talk among locals about the Catholic Church making her a saint.
Cemetery
Finally, the last section we visited was the cemetery. Fernando showed us the gates of the cemetery and told us that the entire neighborhood around it was destroyed, but the cemetery was barely damaged. 12 families survived by seeking refuge in the cemetery.
Conclusion
Overall, it was an eye-opening experience to tour Armero. First of all, we learned a great deal about the disaster and why it occurred. Secondly, learning about it directly from a survivor who was there on the day of the disaster was priceless. Finally, we came away with a greater appreciation for nature and what can happen if we don’t heed its warnings. Armero was a tragedy for humanity, but also a valuable lesson about the effects of terrible ignorance.
