Table 5 Table summarising basaltic lava flow events at Nyiragongo Volcano that have threatened inhabited areas since 1950
Eruption (References) | Overview, including impacts (Eruption duration) | Response | Recovery & Preparation for subsequent eruptions |
|---|---|---|---|
1977 (1, 2) | The lava lake suddenly drained and reappeared through a fissure. (1 day) | No response actions reported; this sudden onset eruption was short-lived. | A monitoring system was installed but is not always functional. |
2002 (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) | The lava lake suddenly drained and reappeared through a fissure. The resulting lava flow advanced through the city of Goma. (2.5 weeks) | There was little coordinated response although residents self-evacuated. International organisations (e.g. the United Nations) set up refugee shelters in Rwanda. | Within a month, lava flows that traversed roads already had new paths and/or roads across them. Lava flow modelling was conducted leading to the proposal of mitigation measures (Fig. 4). This eruption led to the development of volcanic contingency plans in DRC and Rwanda by international organisations. |