Residents evacuated from slopes of volcano in Colombia due to possible eruption

TOLIMA, COLOMBIA - APRIL 6: The Nevado del Ruiz volcano, located on the border of the departments of Tolima and Caldas in Colombia, is still under an orange alert due to its possible risk of eruption. Since the morning hours on Tuesday, authorities have preventively evacuated people who are in high-risk areas. One of the residents, Cesar Daney Ortegón told Anadolu that he will not evacuate “by order of the authorities”. “I'm simply going to evacuate because the bosses already asked me. That it was better for me to evacuate or go away for a few days while this is being fixed, because well, there are more alarms than the things that are happening,” he said. Ortegón stated that everything seems normal around the volcano, adding that “I don't know why I live here at the foot of the snow, and I have never felt an earthquake. And everything is normal. I've even seen her more normal than ever." Another resident José Alexander Morales said “It's always complicated, it's always hard, it's always hard for one, let's say the situation in which one is living, but what else is one going to do? It is up to one to face it, to continue.” The volcano caused the worst natural disaster in the country’s history in November 1985 when it erupted, triggering lahars or mudflows of volcanic debris that swept through the town of Armero, leaving more than 23,000 people dead. The government raised the volcano's alert level last week following an increase in volcanic activity. A possible eruption could affect some 57,000 families in 27 municipalities, according to authorities. Some 40 families who live on the volcano’s slopes have already been evacuated. Others have refused to leave their homes. (Footage by Edwin Andres Rodriguez Pipicano/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)