The day of the tragedy in Armero – level 1

13-11-1985

Nevado del Ruiz is a volcano. It is in Columbia.

It is November 13, 1985. At 9:09 p.m., the volcano wakes up. It sends a lot of dust into the air. Lava comes out from the volcano.

The lava melts snow on the top of the volcano. Water from the snow mixes with dirt and small stones. All of these materials make lahars. The lahars go down from the volcano.

They go down at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour. They destroy everything in their way. One of the lahars goes to the town of Armero.

It’s a quiet night. People in Armero don’t know about the danger. Many of them are in their houses.

At 11:30 p.m., the first lahar comes. Then, more lahars come. They are traveling at a speed of six meters per second. The biggest lahar is 30 meters deep. The lahars destroy Armero. 22,000 people die.

Difficult words: volcano (a mountain with a big hole at the top that sometimes explodes), lava (hot rock which moves), melt (to change from ice to water), lahar (a river of mud which goes down from a volcano), destroy (to break completely).

What other natural disasters are caused by volcanoes?

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