Lake Nyos: No exact date predicted for collapse

The collapse of Lake Nyos in Cameroon, which was predicted by experts, has no exact date of occurrence due to its geological nature, a Nigerian official said.
Dr. Emmanuel Adanu, the Director of Dams and Reservoir Operations, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said this on Monday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
Adanu said: “With most of these natural geological events, you can never be exact about the prediction.
“Nobody is sure when it will happen.
“Geologically, most of our events are determined by the internal energy of the earth and you cannot really understand exactly the attitude of the energy.
“You can just estimate that because of this energy, this can happen now like an earth quake.
“If you have a seismogram, an instrument for measuring the earth tremor, each time it records the tremors when the earth shakes a bit (and) if there is any small seismic wave.
“So the seismogram keeps recording it.
“Now when the intensity and the frequency keeps showing, you are now getting close to the explosion.
“Any time there is slight movement of the earth because of the energy, as you are monitoring it, over years you find out that the frequency is building up to a point that something else may happen.
“But you cannot be sure when.”
Adanu said that due to the nature of the Lake, erosion was also wearing off the sides of the lake one metre every year.
He added that if it continued, it would also hasten the collapse of the lake, which could cause flooding in Nigeria.
Lake Nyos is a crater lake, located in the North West region of Cameroon, formed by an eruption and known for its usually high levels of carbon dioxide.
The director also talked about the completion of Sabke Dam in Katsina State, which, according to him, is 100 per cent completed and ready for utilisation.
Adanu urged state governments to ensure maximum utilisation of the dams provided in their states.
He said: “We keep telling them: if you have a dam in your state, please inform us and you can use it.
“We’ve told them several times.
“Nothing is preventing them from using it.
“We don’t know why they don’t want to do it, but it’s not because we have not given them the dams.
“Nothing like that.
“We encourage them to do that.
“Federal Government can only provide raw water and we have done it in many states, just go and take the water treat it and distribute.
“But a lot of them still wait for Federal Government to take that responsibility and they should know that Federal government cannot do all that for states.
“It’s just not possible.
“Investment on the harnessing of water in dams is enormous.
“They have all the rights to build their dams too with our proper supervision.”