Experts report dramatic increase in seismic activity

Early Monday morning, volcanologists and researchers from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma observed a dramatic increase in seismic activity of Mt Nyamuragira, northwest of Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After the lava flows from neighbouring Mt Nyiragongo on 17 January, researchers have been keeping a close watch on the area. "One minute the reading said there was no seismic activity at all, and the next showed dramatic activity," said volcanologist Dario Tedesco, professor of volcanology at the University of Naples and consultant for OCHA in Goma. Nyamuragira has an active history, with eruptions occurring every one to two years. The eruption of February 2001 lasted several weeks, but did not threaten local human populations, as lava flows descended toward the west, entering Virunga national park. Tedesco and Congolese seismologists anticipate an eruption to happen as soon as within several days, or as late as a few weeks from now. "It is not the eruption, however, that is our main concern," he added, noting that the seismic activity recorded in the past few weeks threatens to upset the balance of nearby Lake Kivu. "If the seismic activity reaches the lake, the combination of it and possible volcanic activity at the bottom of the lake would upset the balanced layers of carbon dioxide and methane that lie in the lake." If this occurs, Tedesco continued, these toxic gases could be released from the lake, posing a lethal threat to the surrounding population. Furthermore, seismic activity is causing cracks in the earth and widening those already present, creating a potential situation for more lava flows and toxic gas emissions. In one instance, the Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma reported that a long fissure discovered under a local church, Kanisa La Mungu, in the centre of Goma, is emitting carbon dioxide at a concentration of 0.1 percent, which was strong enough to cause two women cleaning the church to faint. The church has since been sealed off. The volcanologists report that fissures such as this throughout the region could be future eruption sites. The Observatoire is continuing to monitor volcanic and seismic activity, and will be informing the local population of the situation.