Cablegate: Drc: Nyamulagira Volcano Erupting Again, First

VZCZCXRO0154
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1840 3421204
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081204Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5284
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001840

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EAID PREF CG
SUBJECT: DRC: NYAMULAGIRA VOLCANO ERUPTING AGAIN, FIRST
TIME SINCE 2004

REF: A: 02 KIGALI 456

B: KINSHASA 1787

1. (U) Summary. Mount Nyamulagira , a volcano some 30 kilometers (21
miles) north of Goma, began erupting on November 27 at 2000, the
first time since 2004. One major lava flow from the active fissure
at the southern base of the volcano was headed in a southwesterly
direction towards Lake Kivu and threatened to cut the Goma-Sake
road. Though no large human habitations were in the lava's path,
the cutting off of Sake - a town which had only last week saw
violence between renegade military elements and the Congolese army,
would have seriously complicated the humanitarian and military
situation in the area. The eruption has been winding down, however,
and the lava flow has stopped far short of the road. Volcanologists
warn that additional eruptions are possible, given the amount of
magma that has accumulated underground not far from the surface, but
have indicated that the negative consequences of this eruption are
limited to effects on the environment caused by smoke during the
eruption. End summary

2. (U) On November 26, seismic equipment around the two volcanoes
north of Goma, North Kivu province, registered over 400 tremors.
Nyamulagira volcano, said to be the most active volcano in Africa
(ref A), has erupted at regular intervals over the last decade, most
recently in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2004. Lava from Nyamulagira
is generally heavier, thicker and slower-moving than that from
Nyiragongo volcano, which spread an estimated 15 to 20 million cubic
meters of lava in 2002. Some large lava flows from Nyamulagira have
reached Lake Kivu over the last hundred years; in 1948 lava flowed
almost nonstop for nearly two years, crossing the Goma-Sake road to
the south and significantly changing the shape of the Lake Kivu
shoreline. Nyamulagira eruptions, however, pose little threat to
human life, and it is virtually impossible for the flow to reach
Goma, since it would have to travel uphill to get there. The 2004
eruption sent lava only northward, into the Virunga Park, where
there are few human habitations.
3. (U) By December 1, during a flyover of the scene, OFDA rep and
Jacques Durieux, foremost expert on the Kivu volcanoes, observed
that lava flow from a fissure directly south of the Nyamulagira
crater had traveled 14 of the 24 kilometers southwestward to the
Goma-Sake road. Concern among humanitarian personnel and
volcanologists in Goma was that, if this flow continued southward,
it could cut off the main road from Goma westward, along the north
end of Lake Kivu, towards Sake. Sake was the scene of fighting
between integrated and non-integrated brigades of the Congolese
military (FARDC) November 25-27. (ref B). Sake, on a main
north-south route between North and South Kivu provinces, is
normally a town of 30,000-40,000 people, many of whom fled during
the recent fighting. Some went to Goma, while others moved to nearby
towns along the main north-south road. Approximately 5,000 have
taken shelter in villages along the Goma-Sake road. Humanitarian
supplies for these displaced persons normally come from Goma, where
there is an international airport with a relatively long runway.
(Note: The runway of this airport was significantly shortened by a
lava flow during the Nyiragongo eruption of January 2002 and no
longer meets safety standards for many types of aircraft. End note.)

4. (U) By December 2, volcano monitoring equipment suggested that
the eruption was increasing in force, but volcanologists could not
verify this by air surveillance due to poor visibility. On Monday,
December 4, the volcanologists had good views of both the fissure
and the lava flows and were able to state confidently that this
particular eruption seemed to be ending and that there were no
longer any active lava flows. They cautioned, however, that
additional eruptions could occur, given that, according to analysis
of their measurements over the last two years, significant amounts
of magma had risen to within 4 kilometers of the surface and that
this eruption was probably too short to have exhausted the reservoir
that had been building up there. They will be monitoring very
closely all developments over the next few months.
5. (U) The only serious consequence of this Nyamulagira eruption
appears to be the possible negative affects of the huge plume of
smoke that extends across both the DRC and the ROC and all the way
to Chad (which has already forced pilots to alter flight patterns).
The eruption has increased the amount of sulfur dioxide in the air,
which, if it finds its way into surface and ground waters, can have
detrimental effects on human health. Cinders from the smoke landing
on pastures are potentially dangerous to ruminants in the vicinity.

MEECE

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