Some aspect of seismicity prior to the 27 November 2006 eruption of Nyamuragira volcano and its implication for volcano monitoring and risk mitigation in the Virunga area, Western Rift Valley of Africa

The temporal variation in the seismicity in the Nyamuragira area was investigated for the period 1 July 2004-27 November 2006, prior to the 27 November 2006 eruptions of Nyamuragira. It is found that this eruption was preceded by 11 months by progressive increase in number of long-period earthquakes. This pattern of seismicity, integrated with other geophysical, geological and geochemistry data, is useful for volcano monitoring and risk mitigation.