The explosion in the African country of Cameroon, Lake Nyos, took the lives of thousands of people and animals. In the early days of the incident, although people could not come to a consensus about the cause of this explosion, the reason was learned much later.
The explosion caused the sudden release of 100,000-300,000 tons (according to some sources, 1.6 million tons) of carbon dioxide (CO2). For this reason, a large gas cloud that emerged officially created a disaster in the region of the lake. Then let’s look at the story of this event together.
The gas cloud, which initially rose 100 kilometers, then descended as it became heavier than air.
Some archaeologists thought that this gas cloud may have formed due to a landslide. Some also suspected the earthquake, but the villagers said they did not feel any shaking the morning of the event. So that possibility has been shelved. After all, experts finally agreed that it was caused by a volcanic eruption. Because the people who came to investigate in the region revealed that the gas in the water sample taken from the lake contained carbon dioxide containing methane and helium, which was an important proof that the explosion was of volcanic origin.
As the iron-rich waters from the depths of the lake came to the surface and combined with oxygen (oxidized), the gas formed turned the lake a red color as you can see in the picture above. Interestingly, after the gas problem emerged, the water level of the lake dropped by about 1 meter and all the trees near the lake started to fall suddenly. There are even claims that about 1.2 meters of gas was released. However, surprisingly, the gas did not damage any houses in the village.
Scientists said that a 100-meter layer of water and foam formed on the surface of the lake, creating a large gas cloud of at least 25 meters that reached the shore. Which is enough of a natural event to damage the settlements next to the lake. In addition, the carbon dioxide formed due to this layer formed in the water was 1.5 times the density of the air in the atmosphere. People living in villages such as Nyos, Kam, Subum and Cha in the region stated that they felt like they were drowning even in their sleep because of this cloud. In fact, the gas cloud was so interesting that it had a mass of 50 meters and could move at a speed of 20-50 kilometers per hour. This brutal cloud, which is officially the cause of nightmares, killed 1,746 people and 3,500 animals, according to the figures released.
About 4,000 people left their village and fled after this incident.
Think about it, even those who fled the region began to experience various diseases such as respiratory problems and paralysis caused by the gas cloud. Some survivors said they could smell the smell of rotten eggs in the village, which for authorities indicated that other volcanic gases mixed with carbon dioxide were involved. However, since the only gas found in the lake water in the first place was carbon dioxide, the main cause of the incident was attributed to this. But this was of course an erroneous assumption, as we mentioned at the beginning, the volcanoes that continued to boil underground were the main source of the problem.
Michele Tuttle, who works at the US Geological Survey, said that the village of Nyos has a population of 1,200 people and there are only 4 people who survived this event. In other words, the death rate of 1,700 is a figure obtained based on the total number of people who lost their lives in other villages. As you can see, it’s really creepy that the number of survivors has not exceeded the fingers of one hand. Moreover, experts stated that close to 3,000 people may actually have died, but the real figure was hidden because the bodies were buried in order not to spread disease to the region.
People still alive after the explosion were treated at the hospital in the country’s capital, Yaoundé. Originally, these people were thought to have been poisoned by sulfur and hydrogen, but later interviews and research with survivors revealed that carbon dioxide was the main cause of poisoning. The living said that those who died quickly lost consciousness and passed away. In fact, while the scientists were examining the village, gas was released again, but because they were on a slope above the lake, nothing happened to them.
Since the source of the problem was volcanic lava underground, it was only a matter of time before an eruption would occur again. For this reason, a degassing device was installed in the lake.
Various studies have been carried out in this direction since 1995, and in 2001 a gas prevention tube could be placed in the lake. Then in 2011, another pipe was laid there, and in 2019 a completely solid gas purification system could be built. The purpose of these installed degasser pipes was to keep carbon dioxide at a safe level, which it succeeded. Thus, the lives of people in the region are now safe from gas and carbon dioxide emissions.
After this event, scientists started to investigate different places, as they were worried that the same event could be repeated in the region. Fortunately, there is no dangerous situation in the area for now. However, experts state that it is necessary to be careful against volcanic eruptions that may occur not only in Africa but also in different parts of the world such as Naples. So what do you think about this event? How does it make you feel to experience such frightening events due to natural causes? You can share the answers to these questions with us in the comments.
- Sources: Wikiwand, Los Angeles Times
- Image Sources: The What If Show
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