8 Volcanic Eruption

In north-west Cameroon in August 1986， there was a volcanic
eruption which devastated the area． At least 1，200 people were
killed and many were left seriously ill with burns and
respiratory infections． Nobody could escape because there was
no warning， just a loud explosion followed by a terrible smell
like that of rotten eggs， and within a short time the entire
area around Lake Nios， which was the site of the eruption， was
covered in smokes．

When help came to the villages on the shores of the lake，men，
women， children and animals were found dead： some were outside
their huts， some still in bed；others were in the fields or on
the village road． It was as if a neutron bomb had exploded
destroying nothing but killing all life． The disaster was the
worst incident of its kind and the second time such a disaster
had stuck this West African nation．

volcanic ? 火山的
eruption ? 爆發
devastate 破壞，摧毀
respiratory ? 呼吸的
infection ? 感染
explosion ? 爆炸
rotten ? 惡臭的，腐爛的
neutron bomb 中子彈
disaster ? 災難

火山爆發
1986年8月，在喀麥隆西北部發生了火山爆發，災害摧毀了整個地區。至少1200人喪生，許多人嚴重燒傷，感染呼吸道疾病。因為沒有警告，沒有人能夠逃脫。一聲巨大的爆炸聲后就是一股難聞的臭雞蛋的味道，短時間內Nios湖周圍的整個地區，也就是火山爆發的地方，淹沒在煙霧中。

當救援人員趕到湖邊的村莊時，男男女女，孩子和動物都已經死亡了： 一些在他們的小屋里，一些還躺在床上，另一些在田野里或是在村里的路上。這好像是一次中子炸彈爆炸，什么也沒有毀壞但卻殺死了所有生命。這場災難是這個西非國家遭受的最嚴重的一次火山爆發，也是這個國家所遭受的第二次大災難。