The surrounding snowcapped volcanoes were postcard perfect. The 124,000 people who lived there, some 9,000 feet [2,700 m] up in the Andes Mountains, were going about their normal routines, unaware that this serene scene was about to be violently disturbed.
Riobamba atrodas Andu kalnos 2700 metrus virs jūras līmeņa, un to ieskauj skaisti sniegoti kalni. 124 tūkstoši Riobambas iedzīvotāju, kas šajā trešdienas pēcpusdienā mierīgi devās savās ikdienas gaitās, nemaz nenojauta, ka teju teju notiks kaut kas briesmīgs.