Comoros volcano Continues to erupt
Pastor Dale Morgan
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Comoros volcano Continues to erupt*
From correspondents in Moroni
January 17, 2007 05:10am
Article from: Reuters
AUTHORITIES in the Comoros islands have made emergency plans to help as
many as 30,000 people expected to be uprooted if one of the world's
largest active volcanoes erupts, officials said overnight.
The 2361 metre high Mount Karthala on the Indian Ocean archipelago's
biggest island, Grande Comore, began glowing red and emitting fumes on
Saturday.
Strong tremors over the weekend - thought to have been caused by lava
trying to escape - forced thousands of people to sleep outside for fear
their homes might collapse.
The island's security chief, Oukacha Jaffar, said as many as 30,000
people could be displaced by an eruption.
"We have planned for the creation of two advance medical posts in the
central and western zones, while primary and secondary schools will be
used for first aid," said Hamada Goda, a doctor at one of the medical posts.
Hamidou Soule, a geologist who leads the Karthala surveillance centre,
said satellite images clearly showed a build-up of heat on the northern
edge of the crater.
"There are three possible scenarios: a crack on the side of the mountain
mass, an overflow from the crater, or simply a settling of activity," Mr
Soule told journalists.
Karthala's eruptions have happened every 11 years on average, but have
rarely caused a major disaster.
In 1903, 17 people died when noxious fumes seeped from cracks in the
mountain, and the last big eruption was in April 2005 when thousands
fled in fear of poisonous gas and lava.