According to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC), on May 6, there was an increase in the number of earthquakes associated with the fracturing of rock inside the volcanic edifice compared to the previous day. The seismicity was located mainly in the Arenas crater and in the northeastern, eastern and southeastern sectors of the volcano, at a maximum distance of 2 km and with depths between 2 and 6 km. Some of these earthquakes were related to the activity of the lava dome located at the bottom of the crater, and the maximum magnitude recorded was 1.6.
Regarding the seismic activity related to the movement of fluids inside the volcanic conduits, today it presented a similar behavior in number of earthquakes and in seismic energy released compared to the previous day.
Some of the seismic signals were associated with pulsatile ash emissions, confirmed through the web cameras used for volcanic monitoring. The maximum height of the column of gases and/or ash observed was 800 m measured from the top of the volcano. Yesterday, the preferential dispersion direction of the gas and/or ash column was west to the northwest of the volcano. Reports of sightings of various ash emissions from Murillo (Tolima) and slight ash fall in the municipality of Manizales (Caldas) were also received.
Likewise, the SGC warned that variations in the degassing of sulfur dioxide and the release of water vapor from the crater into the atmosphere continue to be recorded, with thermal anomalies observed at the bottom of the crater.
These indicators confirm that the activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano continues to be very unstable, therefore, the activity of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano remains at Orange Level, which indicates a probability that in days or weeks it will erupt more than the ones he has done in the last 10 years. To change the level and return to the yellow level, a reasonable time is required where trends and patterns can be observed that allow us to infer the possible decrease in activity.