WORLD : Volcano That Killed 25,000 Erupts
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BOGOTA, Colombia — The Nevado del Ruiz volcano that killed 25,000 people in 1985 spouted steam and ash today, and authorities ordered about 2,300 people living nearby to leave their homes.
The volcano, 80 miles west of Bogota, began erupting Thursday night. Ash was drifting hundreds of miles north, according to radio reports.
People living along five rivers that could be flooded by melting ice from glaciers that cling to the 16,000-foot-high volcano are in danger, the disaster emergency office said.
On Nov. 13, 1985, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted, melting parts of glaciers. Boulders, trees and mud clogged up the Lagunillas River. The dam eventually broke, sending a 150-foot-high wall of mud speeding down a canyon. It covered the town of Armero in a matter of seconds while people slept.
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