Mt Nyiragongo (Hazards)

Question 1

In what year was the Mt Nyiragongo eruption?

Answer 1

2002

Question 2

Where is Mt Nyiragongo located?

Answer 2

It is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The volcano is near the city of Goma alongside the border with Rwanda.

Question 3

Where did the DRC rank on the Human Development Index in 2002?

Answer 3

The 13th lowest globally.

173 out of 186 (I think)

Question 4

What was the GDP per Capita of the DRC in 2002?

Answer 4

$167 (USD)
$134 (GBP)

Question 5

Where did the eruption rank on the Volcanic Explosivity Index?

Answer 5

1 out of 5 (low)

Question 6

What were the primary physical impacts of the eruption?

Answer 6

Lava flows (200-1000m wide, 2m deep)
Volcanic Gases

Question 7

What were the secondary physical impacts of the eruption?

Answer 7

Ash fall
Fires, and resulting gases

Question 9

What were the secondary human effects of the eruption? (3)

Answer 9

147 were killed by asphyxiation (by CO2) and collapsed buildings

120,000 left homeless

20% of Goma affected (4,500 buildings destroyed)

Question 10

Nyiragongo - Perceptions of the monitoring / prediction efforts: (3)

Answer 10

Two seismological station gave warnings of an eruption days in advance.

monitoring units donated by the USA in 1994 were looted during conflict

Evacuation plans not set in place in time despite efforts to raise the alarm - likely due to the lack of functioning government in the area

Question 11

What were the long term responses to the eruption? (4)

Answer 11

International funding of a Volcanic Observatory

Goma rebuilt and expanded

Tourism increased

Conflict continued to pose a risk for scientists

Question 12

What type of volcanic mitigation structures could have been built to reduce the damage caused? (2)

Answer 12

Earth embankments

Diverted flow channels

Question 13

Why is it difficult to build mitigation structured around Goma?

Answer 13

The urban sprawl has reached very close to the volcano; anywhere that you tried to divert volcanic flow to would still contain people.

Question 14

Why has urban sprawl been partially focused in the direction of Mt Nyiragongo?

Answer 14

The city cannot expand south-east due to a lake and it cannot expand south-west due to the Rwandan border. (the volcano is north of Goma)

Question 15

How fast did aid begin to arrive to those affected by the eruption?

Answer 15

two days after the eruption (reasonably quickly)

Question 16

What was opened in 2007 to support observation of volcanic activity and risk in the area?

Answer 16

A Volcano and Environmental Risk Management Unit

Question 17

How does the Risk Management Unit help to prepare Goma for future eruptions?

Answer 17

*Training local scientists
*Risk mapping for urban planning
*Educated 70,000 children on volcanic risks (same for other citizens too)

Question 18

How did the 2021 eruption vary from the 2002 eruption? What could this suggest?

Answer 18

Only 32 deaths (compared to 245).
Most of these were in road accidents during the evacuation rather than from the volcanic threats themselves

This may suggest that preparation/mitigation efforts have lowered the vulnerability of Goma

Question 19

Why might the 2021 eruption not be a representative comparison to make?

Answer 19

The threats posed by this eruption were significantly lower than those seen in 2002.

Question 20

Why is funding of the monitoring effort currently in doubt?

Answer 20

In 2020 the World Bank terminated their contributions to the Goma Volcanic Observatory