The 1985 eruption of the Colombian volcano Nevado del Ruiz was a wake-up call for the need to understand and communicate the risk of natural disasters in Colombia and other mountainous countries. The eruption and subsequent lahar caused more than 20,000 lives to be lost. The geographical and historical contexts, socioeconomic and environmental effects, and painful lessons about the importance of disaster preparedness and effective crisis management are discussed in one of the 18 chapters of this informative book, which chronicles and examines disasters caused by natural events in the 25 years from 1979 to 2004 in Colombia.
