DRC volcano spits fire
May 17, 2004
A volcano is erupting within walkable distance of Uganda’s border.
A volcano is erupting within walkable distance of Uganda’s border.
The Goma Volcano Observatory in the Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed that Mt. Nyamuragira began spitting fire on May 8 at 05: 48 am.
The eruption, marked by strong volcanic tremors which slightly shook south-western Uganda, is expected to last a few weeks.
A reconnaissance flight over the volcano on May 9 which revealed that red-hot lava poured out from many vents, says a report published on the website of the US-based Southwest Volcano Research Centre.
The larva formed a lake of 300 metres in diameter and flowed towards the north-northwest into a nearby national park but did not threaten populated areas.
“Ash fell in several villages on the western and northern flanks of the volcano,†says the report.
The French news agency, AFP says that an unspecified number of people around the mountain were running away from homes with their livestock but there were no casualties.
“People say clouds of dust are falling towards Kichango (a village between Goma and the Uganda border),†he said. Former Interehamwe militiamen fled for their lives as the mountain began spitting fire and blowing out clouds of dust, according to AFP.
The rebels have been holed up in dense forests at the mountain’s foothills.
A volcanic eruption, say physicists, occurs when the restless magma (molten rock) inside the earth squeezes its way to the earth’s surface under high pressure. The lava spills downhill, burning anything in its way. As the lava cools, it becomes solid and forms rock.
Nyamuragira, Africa’s most active volcano, is on the same mountain range as the Bufumbira mountains of south-western Uganda, which used to erupt periodically but stopped more than a million years ago. However, the eruption appears to pose no threat to the people of Uganda. Dr. Ezra Twesigomwe, a physics lecturer at the Faculty of Science, Makerere University, said the lava cannot flow all the way from Nyamuragira to Uganda.
He added that the dust might possibly find its way to Uganda’s airspace, but this does not pose a serious threat.
Normally, Twesigomwe added, when this mountain erupts, it causes weak earth tremors in south-western Uganda. These volcanic earthquakes, he said, are usually weak and therefore do not cause trouble especially in places far from the fire-spitting mountain.
“As a whole, we should be safe. That mountain has been erupting for some time and it has not caused us any trouble,†he said.
Nyamuragira is the only African mountain that has erupted since the beginning of this year, and is one of the 10 mountains currently erupting around the world.
However, the nearby Mt Nyiragongo is now restless and may also erupt any time.
The Goma Volcano Observatory in the Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed that Mt. Nyamuragira began spitting fire on May 8 at 05: 48 am.
The eruption, marked by strong volcanic tremors which slightly shook south-western Uganda, is expected to last a few weeks.
A reconnaissance flight over the volcano on May 9 which revealed that red-hot lava poured out from many vents, says a report published on the website of the US-based Southwest Volcano Research Centre.
The larva formed a lake of 300 metres in diameter and flowed towards the north-northwest into a nearby national park but did not threaten populated areas.
“Ash fell in several villages on the western and northern flanks of the volcano,†says the report.
The French news agency, AFP says that an unspecified number of people around the mountain were running away from homes with their livestock but there were no casualties.
“People say clouds of dust are falling towards Kichango (a village between Goma and the Uganda border),†he said. Former Interehamwe militiamen fled for their lives as the mountain began spitting fire and blowing out clouds of dust, according to AFP.
The rebels have been holed up in dense forests at the mountain’s foothills.
A volcanic eruption, say physicists, occurs when the restless magma (molten rock) inside the earth squeezes its way to the earth’s surface under high pressure. The lava spills downhill, burning anything in its way. As the lava cools, it becomes solid and forms rock.
Nyamuragira, Africa’s most active volcano, is on the same mountain range as the Bufumbira mountains of south-western Uganda, which used to erupt periodically but stopped more than a million years ago. However, the eruption appears to pose no threat to the people of Uganda. Dr. Ezra Twesigomwe, a physics lecturer at the Faculty of Science, Makerere University, said the lava cannot flow all the way from Nyamuragira to Uganda.
He added that the dust might possibly find its way to Uganda’s airspace, but this does not pose a serious threat.
Normally, Twesigomwe added, when this mountain erupts, it causes weak earth tremors in south-western Uganda. These volcanic earthquakes, he said, are usually weak and therefore do not cause trouble especially in places far from the fire-spitting mountain.
“As a whole, we should be safe. That mountain has been erupting for some time and it has not caused us any trouble,†he said.
Nyamuragira is the only African mountain that has erupted since the beginning of this year, and is one of the 10 mountains currently erupting around the world.
However, the nearby Mt Nyiragongo is now restless and may also erupt any time.