No Apparent Danger: The True Story of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz

On January 14, 1993, a team of scientists entered the crater of Galeras, a volcano in the Colombian Andes, for field research. As they moved toward the volcano's center, Galeras erupted, killing nine men instantly. Geologist Marta Calvache rushed into the crater searching for survivors. This was her second volcanic disaster. In 1985, Calvache had been studying Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano three hundred miles north of Galeras, when it erupted suddenly in November, killing more than twenty-three thousand people—one of the worst natural disasters of the twentieth century. Following the Nevado del Ruiz eruption, volcanologists from around the world came to Galeras to study the behavior of volcanic forces. Despite this expertise, fifteen people descended into a death trap at Galeras. Victoria Bruce interweaves accounts of the heroes, victims, survivors, and bystanders, examining what it means to live near a volcano and how clashing cultures and scientific arrogance led to tragedy.