Strong earthquakes and pouring rain are hampering people trying to restart their lives after last Thursday’s volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The tremors are reported to have knocked down houses and may have killed people sheltering within them.
Cholera has also struck, with up to 300 cases suspected in the Rwandan town to which many people fled after the eruption. The infectious disease thrives in poor sanitary conditions and is endemic in the area. Three cases have also been confirmed in the the ruined city of Goma.
Better news is that the water supply is now clean in both Goma and Rwanda, according to Oxfam reports, which should prevent the further spread of disease. And the volcanic activity has settled down, according to UN representatives in Goma. However, experts still do not know if this represents a lull before another eruption or a complete cessation.
“This eruption is over,” said Alain Pasche, an environmental scientist and risk analyst from the UN station in Goma on Tuesday. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t erupt again in the next hour. No one knows.”
International volcanologists who rushed to Nyiragongo flew over the volcano on Monday and Tuesday by helicopter, but saw no evidence of lingering activity. The air was clear of smoke and ash, as most of the fires set by the molten rock appear to have gone out. But the lava flood that devoured much of Goma is still cooling, creating a potentially deadly “thin ice” trap for those who try to walk over it.
Matthew Conway, a UN humanitarian team member in Goma, said the situation was paradoxical: “We were writing up our report for Geneva saying it’s much quieter, but we’re feeling aftershocks every five to ten minutes now.”
Contrary to many media reports, Pasche says there is no real danger from the volcanic gases as the carbon dioxide and sulphurous fumes are in fairly low concentrations. Likewise, the danger of lava floods poisoning the huge lake next to Goma are low, he says.
Another possible danger is posed by the mass of carbon dioxide and methane dissolved in the bottom waters of Lake Kivu. This could in theory bubble up explosively if disturbed too much.
Michel Halbwachs, an engineer and physicist from the University of Savoie in Chambéry, France, has studied lake Kivu in the past and is now in Goma. He has not yet been able to examine the lake but thinks the lava flood is unlikely to stir up the waters sufficiently to cause a problem
Lake Nyos in Cameroon holds the same hidden danger and exploded in 1986, killing 1700 people. Halbwachs’s team began draining carbon dioxide from the bottom of the lake in 2001 and have been exploring the possibility of similarly draining lake Kivu to make it safe.