TANZANIA: Authorities urge residents to move from volcano eruption area*

14 Sep 2007 15:15:07 GMT
Source: IRIN

DAR ES SALAAM, 14 September 2007 (IRIN) - Tanzanian authorities are
persuading people in villages near Ol Doinyo Lengai to move to safer
areas after the volcano erupted.

Since July, areas around Ol Doinyo Lengai have been hit by earth tremors
as a result of volcanic activity. The earthquakes caused panic in
settled areas, including the Kenya capital, Nairobi.

The mountain has spewed smoke and discharged lava since the beginning of
September.

"We don't have a comprehensive evacuation programme for about 5,000
residents of the Engaresero village on the slope of the mountain, but
for the time being we are persuading them to understand the risk,"
Jowika Kasunga, district commissioner for Ngorongoro, the local area,
told IRIN on 14 September.

"People are worried but they are still in their homes. Many are
reluctant to leave because they regard the village as a 'shop'. It is
like telling someone to close the shop because many youth survive by
assisting tourists who want to climb the mountain, which in Maasai means
mountain of God," Kasunga said.

Tanzania's chief geologist on 19 July advised residents living close to
the Ol Doinyo Lengai to stay at least 50km away from the mountain.

As a precaution, Abdul Mruma, chief executive officer of the Geological
Survey of Tanzania, added: "The safest distance to stay away, however,
is 100km."

The most powerful quake, on the afternoon of 17 July, was estimated at
5.9 on the Richter scale.

The United States Geological Survey, which has been monitoring the
tremors, said that available information was "not sufficient to
determine if the current activity reflects a geologic process that might
lead to a change in the eruptive behavior of Ol Doinyo Lengai". The last
major eruption of the volcano was in 1966.

jk/jn/mw