Mt. Nyiragongo: the aftermath
- Thread starter Meria
- Start date
Ngimanene na Muchere
Elder Lister
Did they think critically?
Geniuses think alike
bigDog
Elder Lister
You can't predict that sir. Not with the current technology.
That place in the photos is called Munigi and it's on the slopes of Nyiragongo. At least 500 houses were destroyed there during Saturday's eruption. No direct fatalities were reported. Reported deaths were caused by a freak road accident (9) as people were fleeing and an attempted jail break(5 shot).
It would have been a disaster if the lava flow went into Goma rather than Virunga park. Mt Nyiragongo produces magma with relatively low viscosity, once it breaks into the surface it forms very fast flowing lava. Imagine a liquid flowing downslope at a speed of around 100km/h. I know you imagined water. Try being more creative, imagine you can melt stone and make it flow that fast. Yes, molten rock 1100°C! Now make it flow from Munigi all the way down across the airport, across the city and into lake Kivu. That was a close shave, too close!
Nastos
Lister
Wacha kufikiria kama waititu
bigDog
Elder Lister
Meria
Elder Lister
main question is, why wasnt this predicted like they do with that volca (as its called by the zaireans) as they do with the one in the philipines. those guys get 48hrs warning.
Alafu @Da Vinci wheres your NASA, they cant even see a small rock coming at us with all their humongous astronomical budget which can feed Africa for 10yrs.
Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Wapelekeeni ujuzi I think they would be happy. Kwanza the hummingbird style ya Wangari Maathai (May her soul rest in peace)
bigDog
Elder Lister
I'm not an expert. I can only point to anecdotal evidence. When you have very liquid magma, with a good opening on the surface, an eruption is fast and smooth flowing (Goma, 2021). On the other hand if you have a very viscous magma, it blocks all the vents and pressure builds up. When tectonic plate that blocks eventually produce a force sufficient force to unplug the vents, a violent eruption occurs(Pompeii, 75AD?)
When magma has been building for days, you can tell by way of tremors or earthquakes.
Nattydread
Elder Lister
Umezidisha chumvi kidogo Bro.
bigDog
Elder Lister
Why do you think I'm excegerating? Do you have a source that proposes a lower lava flow speed?
NOVA | Volcano Under the City | Anatomy of Nyiragongo (non-Flash) | PBS
(non-Flash) In this interactive, take a look inside an active stratovolcano like Nyiragongo, and learn the different features that make it tick: noxious gas-emitting vents, complex systems of eruptive fissures, and dangerous lava flows-the fastest-moving on Earth.
www.pbs.org
Karma_mama
Elder Lister
Apparently monitoring had stopped for a while coz the World Bank had cut funding due to corruption and mismanagement.
They were just starting back when the proverbial hit the fan...
Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
The timing was propitious then! Sad that in Afirika it's always about the money.
Luther12
Elder Lister
The scientists there had foreseen it, and warned the gov’t to expect an eruption since last year.
Luther12
Elder Lister
There were some geologists being interviewed on BBC Swahili News last evening. They’d predicted and warned the gov’t to prepare but gava ikasema hamna hela.
Luther12
Elder Lister
Luther12
Elder Lister
Kumbuka ile ya Hawaii recently?
Hot ‘mud’ flowing pole pole tu for months on end.
Those violent eruptions often result in the top being blown off, forming a caldera.
Luther12
Elder Lister
The one redeeming thing, at least to me, is that the geologists being interviewed were local, not mzungu.