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Volcanologists monitoring seismic activity in two volcanoes in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have urged a continued high state of vigilance on Mt Nyiragongo where fractures have appeared on its flanks, rendering them weak and "increasing the risk of another eruption", the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Scientists said earlier reports of huge amounts of volcanic ash emanating from Mount Nyamuragira had not been confirmed by US National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellite photographs and data, nor by the situation on the ground.
"There is, however, a lot of sulphur-gas and acid-rain emission that could pose a threat to livestock," OCHA said.
OCHA has called a meeting with the humanitarian community to be held in the eastern DRC town of Goma on Wednesday to discuss the overall situation. OCHA said that in Rwanda, the UN Development Programme Disaster Management Task Force - part of the Development Assistance Framework - had placed the volcanoes situation high on its agenda and would be meeting to discuss the issue.
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