Preventing the Next Disaster at Lake Nyos.

English Abstract:

Lake Nyos is an active crater lake located in Menchum Division of the North West Region of Cameroon. This is one of only three volcanic lakes in the world (the others are Lake Monoun in Cameroon and Lake Kivu in Rwanda).

In August of 1986, there was a huge eruption at Lake Nyos that sent plums of Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into the atmosphere killing 1700 people, livestock and practically all living things within a 15 miles radius of the lake. The explosion was the result of accumulation of a large amount of gas CO2 deep underneath the lake. It is believed that some 1.2 cubic km of gas was released to the environment in this one single event. CO2 concentrations are ok at about 3% but lethal in excess of 10%. The villagers around Lake Nyos literally suffocated under the heavy poisonous cloud of the gas. The lake was dubbed the deadliest lake by Guinness world record in 2008

Several efforts are being put in place to prevent a repeat of what happened here in 1986. Following the various scientific studies on the disaster that the lake was super-saturated and out-gassing could occur every 10-30years, there were proposals to reduce the volume of water in the lake that could reduce pressure on the lake’s CO2 and cause the gas to escape. Another research finding proposed the installation of a degassing column in the lake. To this effect, the U.S office of foreign Disaster Assistance funded a permanent installation of a degassing pipe at Lake Nyos.
On January 30th 2001, a spectacular 50 m high fountain soared above the peaceful surface of the lake.
The demonstration was a total success; a powerful soda spray jet - stable and safe - was switched on and off several times using a remote radio-controlled system. In 2011 two additional pipes were installed to assure the complete degassing of Lake Nyos.