The Colombian government is aiming to accelerate the evacuation of around 2,500 households residing nearest to the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which is under surveillance for a possible eruption. However, certain residents are choosing to stay put. The 1985 eruption of the volcano caused Colombia’s largest-ever natural disaster, killing more than 25,000 people by burying entire villages in avalanches of rock and earth fragments. The government has raised the volcano’s alert status to orange following an increase in seismic activity that indicates a higher likelihood of an eruption in the upcoming days or weeks, and some preventative evacuations are underway. President Gustavo Petro has urged officials to expedite the evacuations, and livestock, which is vital to many farming families’ livelihoods in the region, may be relocated or allowed to be checked on by their owners during the day. However, some residents, including those who survived the 1985 eruption, are refusing to comply with the warnings. Seventy thousand inhabitants live in the volcano’s danger zone, which spans six provinces, according to the country’s disaster management agency. As per the authorities, due to inadequate communication infrastructure, the preventative evacuations are necessary as contacting those living closest to the volcano during a possible imminent eruption could be challenging. According to the Smithsonian Institution, the 1985 disaster is the fourth-deadliest volcanic eruption in human history.