Volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
With 2 volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo there have been a total of 6 significant eruptions over the past 200 years. Over one hundred people were killed. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 01/17/2002 with the eruption of "Nyiragongo". Here, 100 people died.Out of 5 volcanos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 4 are considered still active.
Other natural hazards in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
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Significant volcanic eruptions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 200 years
The following list shows all volcanic eruptions of the last 200 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the eruption increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic meters up to 1 kilometer high. From VEI 8, a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.The highest explosivity index in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached in the review period was VEI 3 in 1912. The volcano Nyamuragira threw tephramasses of at least 10 million cubic meters over 3 kilometers high. Volcanoes of this size can theoretically erupt at this intensity every year.
| Eruption | Volcano | VEI | Deaths | Total damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/22/2021 | Nyiragongo | 2 | 32 | |
| 01/17/2002 | Nyiragongo | 1 | 100 | |
| 11/21/1990 | Nyiragongo | 0 | 1 | |
| 01/10/1977 | Nyiragongo | 1 | 0 | |
| 01/28/1938 | Nyamuragira | 1 | 0 | |
| 12/03/1912 | Nyamuragira | 3 | 20 |
All volcanoes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
| Volcano | Elevation | Status | Last eruption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayamoto | 950 m | Solfatara stage | |
| Nyamlagira | 3056 m | Active | |
| Nyiragongo | 3465 m | Active | |
| Nyiragongo | 3470 m | Active | 05/22/2021 |
| Visoke | 3711 m | Active |
These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated.
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