In the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda, the National Army has two disaster response platoons in support of the National Disaster Risk Response Unit, government authorities and various relief agencies that are attentive to the seismic activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
In response to the orange alert decreed due to the level of activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, the Colombian National Army is prepared with the military engineers of the Eighth Brigade and the 80th Disaster Prevention and Assistance Battalion, to provide support to the needs of people who may be hit by the possible eruption.
In the municipality of Villamaría, in the department of Caldas, in the village of Papayal, near the crater of the volcano, there are soldiers trained in emergency care, together with relief agencies, to carry out the preventive evacuation of 40 families of the sector and respond to the call of the authorities to guide people in safe places and thus prevent human losses.
In the same way, the Army has provided yellow machinery and personnel to carry out immediate maintenance on the roads that are the evacuation route of the community, so that they can move safely and quickly to the places prepared by the authorities. On the other hand, the institution has provided a mobile station that will be in charge of informing people of government decisions and operations that should be followed during this natural emergency.
The Army concentrates its efforts in the three departments of the Coffee Axis, as Colonel Carlos Eduardo Vanegas Ávila, commander of the Eighth Brigade, points out: “We are prepared to help the people of all the municipalities that may be hit and for this, we conceive prevention, preparedness, education, immediate and efficient response and technological capacity.”
The main objective of the National Army is to participate together with the other State institutions in mitigating the negative effects on people's lives, constructions and the nation's heritage in the frame of the risks such as the possible activity of the Nevado del Ruiz.
Source: Press – National Army
Tags
National Army, disaster prevention alert, Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, orange alert,
