Análisis de los planes de contingencia volcánica en los municipios de Cajamarca Tolima y Armenia Quindío, que se encuentran en el área de influencia directa del volcán Cerro Machín

Abstract

The Machín volcano, also known as Cerro Machín, Alto de Machín or the hoyo, is a volcanic caldera with an explosive probability of eruption. It is located in the central mountain range, in the Machín – Cerro Bravo volcanic complex, made up of volcanic structures of complex annular shape, from the set of relicts of interconnected pyroclastic rings, in the department of Tolima; It is the volcano with the greatest potential for damage in Colombia.That is why we seek to make a diagnosis of the current state of the Contingency Plans for the Cerro Machín Volcano of the municipalities of Armenia Quindío and Cajamarca Tolima, in the event of a possible eruption of the Cerro Machín Volcano, according to law 1523 of 2012 "the which adopts the national disaster risk management policy and establishes the National Disaster Risk Management System.” Analyzing the strategies and protocols established by municipal mayors, which seek to mitigate possible threats such as floods, mudslides, electricity outages, contamination of drinking water and forest fires, etc., that may endanger human life, having keep in mind that; According to experts, its eruption could affect at least one million people in 4 departments of the country; but at the same time it is difficult to measure the social, environmental, economic and cultural impact, because there is no history of recent eruptions that would allow us to measure the impact that a possible volcanic eruption would generate. The different communities and social organizations do not want a new catastrophe like Armero to be repeated and that, at the time of emergency, all State agencies act in an organized manner and that decisions that save lives are made in time. In 1991, the Pinatubo volcano, in the Philippines, considered the twin of the Cerro Machín volcano, made one of the most explosive eruptions in the world in recent years, a million people were saved from dying because decisions were made in time. The inhabitants of Machín wish to suffer the same fate as the Filipinos. (Ramirez, 2023)