In order to meet the need to keep people informed in the zone near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, the National Army sent three radio stations in Libano, Tolima, Tolemaida, in Nilo, Cundinamarca and a mobile one in the Cerro El Guali department of Caldas, in charge of informing the relevant updates about this natural emergency.
Fulfilling the mission of the public interest stations and assisting the call for support to the Fifth Division and the Eighth Brigade, the National Army sent three stations, one of them, the modular Wide-ranging Action vehicle (VEMAI) that during a four-hour road trip arrived at the El Guali military base to support with prevention measures, this, by issuing timely reports or alerts from truthful channels such as the National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) and the Colombian Geological Service (SGC), which provide the information in an inter-institutional way so that this can be distributed to the inhabitants of the areas hit by the recent earthquakes in the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
This mobile station is made up of a announcer, a maintenance technician and the driver of the vehicle, which has vehicular loudspeaker equipment, riso duplicating machine for the mass production of brochures, a 100-watt transmitter on the frequency 90.7 FM with an approximate coverage of 40 linear kilometers according to its atmospheric, natural and altitude conditions; this is a tool that is operated by military personnel specialized in this capacity.
In this alert, the National Army has in the same way provided yellow machinery and Military Engineer personnel to enable roads that are the evacuation route of the community, so that they can move safely and quickly to the places designated by the authorities.
Brigadier General David Leonardo Gómez, commander of the Fifth Division, said that "the stations play a fundamental role as a communication channel, since they lead to sending messages to the areas of greatest risk that do not have access to reliable information."
The Comprehensive Action and Development Support Battalion No. 5 implemented 24-hour information support operations in coordination with risk institutions, as well as with the Colombian Stereo station in Libano, Tolima on the frequency 100.5 FM, which is responsible for providing timely communication to the nearby municipalities of Libano, Murillo, Lérida, Armero and Guayabal.
In Tolemaida, this station operates on the frequency 104.7 FM which in the same way covers part of the risk area with its radio waves, reaching more communities to keep them on alert about the evolution of the volcano. Although this emergency is constant in its orange alert, the National Army will continue to be attentive to any event that occurs and, within the framework of defense support operations to the civil Authority, prepares support to the municipalities at greatest risk, as well as continue to implement Comprehensive Action activities in a coordinated and inter-institutional manner.
Source: General Command of the Colombian Military Forces
