Hazards case study-Nyiragongo Flashcards
where is nyiragongo?
Democratic republic of Congo ,20km North of the town Goma and near Congolese/Rwandese boarder.
state facts about this case study.
- Goma has a population of 2 million people
- one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is notorious for its lava lake
- has fluid eruptions of basaltic lava
- volcano has fissures and fumaroles
when did the eruption occur?
17th January 2002 after increases months earthquakes and steam/gas eruptions
how large was the fissure on the south side of the volcano?
13km
what was the lava stream like?
200-1000m wide and 2m deep at speeds of 60mph
How much of the airport was covered in lava ?
1/3 covered the runway
what were the social impacts?
- 300 dead
- 14 nearby villages destroyed
- 200,000 people had to flee Goma
- cholera spread due to lack of sanitisation
what were the economic impacts?
- 350,000 people were dependent on aid
- unemployment rate was 95%
what are the environmental impacts?
- lava destroyed 30% of the city
- poisonous acid caused acid rain
- lava reaches lake Kivu(which was a large concern)and released a large amount of CO2 and CH4
what were the immediate responses?
- 220,000 people fled to Rwanda
- food water, medical, shelter aid was provided
- UN supplied 260 tonnes of food
-WHO conducted emergency measles vaccination to28,00 children in refugee camps to prevent spread
what were the long term responses?
- rebuild efforts
- UN set up camps for displaced people
- Monitoring of volcano for 365 days a year
- monitoring of lake Kivu as people can die from co2 poisoning
what were the issues and failures of the eruption?
issues: -field equipment is often stolen or vandalized which can interfere with monitoring
- in 2001 there were many warnings; seismic activity, temperature at rim of crater spiking but were ignored
successes;-evacuation of some people
hazard management.
very ineffective: lack of prediction, preparation and prevention
