Nigerian volcano or landslide???

[AlaskaDenise]

Pathfinder found a reference to this development - Thanks.

Volcanic Eruption in Benue, One Person Feared Dead

A volcanic eruption has occurred at the mountainous Mkomon district of Kwande Local government of Benue State with one person feared dead while properties worth millions of Naira have also been destroyed.

Residents of the affected community have deserted their homes in search of safer place. Sources of portable water have been polluted by the heavy magma emitted from the eruption.

Vanguard gathered from eye witnesses that there were heavy vibrations around the mountains at the border with Cameroun Republic, followed by eruptions at six points on the mountainous terrain.

The vibrations spewed magma which covered streams and hand dug wells and the entire community leaving the people without portable water.

At the moment, there is panic amongst the people who are said to be cut off completely from the rest of the world as a result of the occurrence and damages to roads and bridges which was occasioned by the heavy vibration.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201011060004.html

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Nigerian volcano

Apparently some people think this report is not credible, despite being reported in multiple news outlets.

Can anyone find any hard evidence? e.g., earthquake records, etc.

.

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Nigerian volcano or landslide???

After doing some searching....

The volcano story version is in several news sources, however none are highly credible.

The landslide story version comes from a low-credible source, but they quote the Benue government. The government is quoted as saying it is the 3rd such landslide in the area.

Another site says the closest volcano is actually off the coast of Cameroon along a fault that runs from Sao Tome to Principe (part of what appears to be a series of seamounts).

The coordinates for the known volcano along the known fault are no where near the coordinates for Benue area.

So.... until photos are released, the story is suspect.

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[Sally Furniss]

Re: Nigerian volcano or landslide???

About 120 km away is Oku Volcanic Field in Cameroon


Oku Volcanic Field

<table summary="Volcano Data Layout" border="0" cellspacing="5"><tbody><tr> <td class="VPhoto" rowspan="9">
</td> <td class="vxLabels">Country:</td><td class="vxData" colspan="2">Cameroon</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Subregion Name:</td><td class="vxData" colspan="2">Western Africa</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Volcano Number:</td><td class="vxData" colspan="2">0204-03-</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Volcano Type:</td> <td class="vxData" colspan="2">Stratovolcano</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Volcano Status:</td><td class="vxData, Uncertain" colspan="2">Holocene?</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Last Known Eruption:</td> <td class="vxData" colspan="2">Unknown</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Summit Elevation:</td> <td class="vxData">3011 m</td> <td class="vxAltData"> 9,878 feet</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Latitude:</td> <td class="vxData"> 6.25&#176;N *</td> <td class="vxAltData">6&#176;15'0"N</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxLabels">Longitude:</td> <td class="vxData"> 10.50&#176;E</td> <td class="vxAltData">10&#176;30'0"E</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="4">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="vxRemarks" colspan="4">Numerous maars and basaltic cinder cones lie on or near the deeply dissected rhyolitic and trachytic Mount Oku massif along the Cameroon volcanic line. The Mount Oku stratovolcano is cut by a large caldera. The Oku volcanic field is noted for two crater lakes, Lake Nyos to the north and Lake Monoun to the south, that recently produced catastrophic carbon-dioxide gas release events. The August 15, 1984, gas release at Lake Monoun was attributed to overturn of stratified lake water, triggered by an earthquake and landslide. The Lake Nyos event on August 21, 1986, caused at least 1700 fatalities. The emission of around 1 cu km of magmatic carbon dioxide has been attributed either to overturn of stratified lake waters as a result of a non-volcanic process, or to phreatic explosions or injection of hot gas into the lake. </td></tr></tbody></table>

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Nigerian volcano or landslide???

It's interesting that it is a straight line from Sao Tome, Principe, clear to Mount Oku - though the Nyos & Monoun areas.

Now...on to figure out which plates are doing what to create this series of features.

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[Pathfinder]

Re: Nigerian volcano or landslide???

Rage of the mountain?in Benue

Wednesday, 10 November 2010 00:00 From Simeon Nwakaudu, Makurdi News - Metro


Residents in remote Benue district seek help following lava, gas outflow from mountain range

TO the people of the remote Mkomon District of about 10 villages in the Kwande Local Council of Benue State, the mountain range on the Nigeria-Camoroun border is an integral part of their everyday life.

Ominously dark, with huge boulders and lush green vegetation on its gently rising sides, the people had had cause to look at the mountain range with suspicion and even awe.

In 1995 and again in 2005, there had been rumblings and some gaseous emissions from the mountains.

Then came Wednesday, October 13, when again, the mountains rumbled, the earth shook and gaseous and molten matter spewed out from the mountainsides.This time, two people lost their lives.

It took The Guardian five tortuous hours from Makurdi, the state capital to Tse-Igba, one of the affected villages and another hour on foot before reaching Abelakpan Mountain, one of the two mountains that erupted. The other is Ba-Mbatyough, both part of the mountain range.

Read more:

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28681:rage-of-the-mountainin-benue&catid=3:metro&Itemid=558

[Pathfinder]

Re: Nigerian volcano or landslide???

Volcanic Eruption - Fear Grips the Hilly Areas of Benue State

Excerpt:
JOSEPH WANTU reports:

There is no gainsaying the obvious that the people of Kwande, living in the hilly area of Benue State, close to the Cameroon borders, are faced with the fear of another natural calamity befalling them in the near future.

Last week's volcanic eruption in the Mkomoh District of Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, which claimed one life, has, indeed, sent warning signs to the government and people of the state, as there are still areas in the state prone to future volcanic disturbances.
...

The Kwande Local Government, which is on the border of the Republic of Cameroon in the North East, has over the years been caught in the wave of natural disasters as one of the most affected areas. Should the Lake Nyos in Cameroon eventually over flood its banks as has been projected by environmental scientists, the area will be a casualty.
...

Akombo Ande Akombo expressed grief over the disaster and called on the federal government for quick intervention.
...

It was evidently clear at the time of the visit to the community that, despite the hue and cry by the community for assistance, no government presence was noticed at any point.

However, the Director for Environment, State Ministry of Water Resources and Environment, Mr. Joseph Iorshaegh, told LEADERSHIP in a phone conversation that nobody died, warning that people should stop over blowing issues. Though he admitted that it was impossible for him to visit the other side of the mountain, where he said a land slide occurred.

Meanwhile, an environmental specialist based in Abuja, Mr. Hyacinth Vaatyough, who spoke to LEADERSHIP, called on the federal government to urgently take action to rescue the people from imminent danger, suspecting the incident to be an active volcanic line which has been traced from the Adamawa high land.

He urged government to install alarm signals in the area and suggested also the relocation of the people from the disaster area to other settlements.

Mr. Vaatyough intimated that a team from the federal government had already been sent to the area to asses the situation.

A geologist, Mr. Abagyegh Ingyorokogh, described the emissions at Abelakpam Mountain in Mkomon district as a wake-up call on government agencies to act in order to avert a future occurence.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201011120576.html