Nyrigango 2002

When was the eruption?

January 2002

What accompanied the volcano?

Earthquakes up to 5 on the moment magnitude scale

How many people were affected?

Over 400,000 were affected and displaced

What plate boundary did the volcano occur on?

The volcano is situated on a constructive plate boundary in the East African Rift Valley

How many people died?

245

What was total economic cost

Exceeding 1.2 billion US dollars

How much of Goma was in lava?

15%

How many buildings were destroyed?

4,500 including hospitals and schools

What happened to Goma's airport?

Around 80% of the airport was covered in lava leaving it unusable

What caused most the deaths?

60-100 due to an explosion at the Goma central petrol station on January 21 with petrol ignited by the hot lava.

How many people were left homeless?

Nearly 120,000 people left homeless

How many people evacuated to nearby Rwanda and other parts of the DRC?

Approximately 400,000 people fled to neighbouring Rwanda and safer parts of the DRC to avoid lava.

How much lava was released?

Around 25 million cubic meters of lava

How many were injured?

Around 470 people injured, suffering burns, fractures, and gas intoxication

What was the main problem caused by the volcano?

That lava destroyed buildings and homes and covered 15 percent of Goma and forced people to evacuate and flee as portions of the city were engulfed by lava.

How much aid was given?

35 million US Dollars

Why was aid limited?

The DRC was involved in a second civil war making it very difficult for aid organisations to operate as Goma was mostly inaccessible due to poor roads and the 9/11 attacks diverted attention away from the disastser.

How prepared was the DRC?

The DRC had limited volcanic monitoring infrastructure and disaster preparedness strategies in place if any at all.

What was the response like from the DRC after the event?

The DRC government itself struggled with limited resources to effectively manage the crisis or coordinate aid efforts and this led to delays in initial response and poor coordination, making it harder to secure more substantial assistance from the international community.

Why was aid reluctant?

Security risks, instability, and the displacement of populations complicated coordination and delivery of aid.

What happened with rebuilding with housing and what happened to the homeless people and how many of them were there?

• Thousands of homes were destroyed leaving 120,000 people homeless

• Many of these people couldn’t afford to rebuild their homes and there was no government run rebuilding programme

• This lead to overcrowding and poor hygiene in refugee camps and let cholera spread

What was the long term response like to the event?

Little to no long term recovery was made or improvements in technology to detect or evacuation plans and aid to help was very limited all due to the civil war and instability in the region leaving the area ruined.

How close is Nyiragango to Goma?

8 miles north of Goma leaving it highly vulnerable

What was Goma's population?

400,000

How much farmland was destroyed?

Over 70% of the farmland surrounding Goma was destroyed by lava flows

How many people are displaced to this day in the region nearby the volcano?

Around 150,000-200,000 due to seismic events and instability still plaguing the region

What was seen in the 2021 volcano eruption?

However the 2021 event was dealt with much better and a level of planning and detection was achieved suggesting improvement on the park model.

What was the VEI?

2

How much of the city was destroyed

Around a third of the city was destroyed

What caused were the two events that caused the most deaths and how many deaths were attributed to each?

• 200 deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning

• 60-100 deaths were caused when lava ignited a petrol station

What occured in the city of Goma after people evacuated?

After people evacuated Goma, looting broke out.

What did the UN provide?

The United Nations sent 260 tonnes of food to the affected area within a week of the eruption. Families received 26kg of rations each.

What did Oxfam provide and how much, who was it for and how much did it cost?

UK Oxfam sent 33 tonnes of water-cleansing equipment for 50,000 people in refugee camps. The £150,000 package mainly contained water purification kits to provide clean water for drinking and sanitation and this helped to reduce the spread of cholera.

What did poor communication to refugees cause?

Communication was poor between agencies and refugees. Many people began to travel back to the affected area within a few days to collect belongings and supplies from their homes, even though it was not yet safe. Some walked across hot lava that was not yet solidified and cooled to get home.

What improvements have occured?

Info spread, maps, education

• Community officers have been trained to relay information to vulnerable communities if an eruption occurs.

• Evacuation maps have been made with routes established to help residents exit the area

• Communities and schools now have evacuation drills

• These suggest improvement through the park model stage 5