The Day Everything Changed: August 21, 1986
Louise Gubb/Corbis via Getty Images
Louise Gubb/Corbis via Getty Images
On August 21, 1986, a quiet night turned into a catastrophe for the villages surrounding Lake Nyos. In a matter of hours, over 1,700 people and at least 3,500 animals were dead, and the landscape was eerily silent.
The sudden loss of life was attributed to a massive release of carbon dioxide from the lake, an event that stunned the world and raised questions about the safety of other volcanic lakes.