A Volcanic Death — The Tragic Story of 13-Year-Old Omayra Sánchez
Her picture went on to win the World Press Photo of The Year award in 1986.
Nature can often be beautiful. Vast landscapes of greenery, huge mountains with snowy peaks, seas, and oceans that spread farther than the eye can see. But with that beauty, nature also has primal power. It can destroy whatever it pleases, and human lives and structures are to it like fleas are to a cow’s skin.
Massive tsunamis, thunderstorms, and volcanic eruptions take away more innocent lives than can be counted. The power nature holds over us is a humbling reminder that we are nothing more than a simple species that call this earth it's home, and although we might be doing a lot better than other species, we are still at the mercy of mother earth.
The Devastating Eruption
It was on the 13th of November, 1985 that the volcano of Nevado del Ruiz let loose and started to wreak havoc. It burst at night, and the melting of the icy peaks of the mountain resulted in the formation of lahars, which descended down the mountain with vicious fury, laying waste to the land below. 20,000 people in the town of Armero died as an effect of the first wave, which was the most devastating one, traveling at 13.5 miles per hour. The…
