Nyiragongo volcanic eruption 2002 Flashcards
When did the Nyiragongo eruption occur?
January 2002
What country is Nyiragongo located in?
The Democratic Republic of Congo (LIC)
Give a point describing the location of the hazard
Lies on a divergent plate boundary.
What does VEI stand for?
What level was the eruption on the VEI scale?
Volcanic explosivity index
VEI 1 (Hawaiian)
What was the cause of the eruption?
A 13 km deep fissure on the volcano’s southern flank.
Name 2 facts about the lava?
1) Basaltic (low silica content)
2) Lava streams were 2m deep and 50m wide!!
Give some human factors that might make the population vulnerable to the hazard.
1) Unexpected (lack of education), despite recent seismic activity.
2) No mitigation programmes in use
3) High population density
Name 2 primary hazards
Lava flows (destroying 1/3rd of Goma - town with population of over 200,000!)
lots of poisonous gas released
How many people fled across the boarder to Rwanda?
350,000! Problem of food and shelter
How many died?
What factors were the main cause of death?
147
Inhaling poisonous gases
Drinking contaminated water
Collapse of buildings
Name 3 secondary impacts
1) Earthquakes occured after eruption - structurally damaging
Richter scale 5.
Give some points from the preparation angle of the HMC for Nyiragongo
Gov didn’t evacuate - inefficiencies caused by government.
What responses were there?
UN relief support - 2 refugee camps for 85,000 set up. Provided 20 tonnes of food and water.
Give 1 human and 1 physical factor that shows it was hard to recover
Price of salt increased by 300%
Acid rain occurred after the event.
What actions were taken for the recovery of the event
Goma volcanic observatory set up 2007 - has own guard to go with them.
70,000 children were educated on spotting and preparing for eruptions.
