YAOUNDE, Cameroon -- A plodding river of lava seared rain forests and threatened small farms in western Cameroon on Tuesday and new tremors forced hundreds to evacuate, state radio said.
Many villagers who fled their homes when Mount Cameroon erupted near the Atlantic coast have returned, but lava will continue to flow into the coastal rain forest for days or weeks, Cameroon Radio Television reported.The 13,400-foot volcano, also known as Mount Faka or "Chariot of the Gods," began erupting over the weekend in this West African nation. Frequent tremors have rattled and damaged area houses.
Several mud and wood homes in Buea, 12 miles south of the mountain, were destroyed. Interior Minister Samson Ename Ename said the government will evacuate the 200 or 300 people who now sleep around the ruins of those homes.
At least five tremors were also reported Tuesday in other towns and villages around the mountain, 260 miles west of Yaounde, the national capital. State radio reported no casualties.
Cloud cover prevented authorities from surveying destruction of the rain forest during a helicopter flight Monday. But they confirmed lava has reached a swath of virgin rain forest that separates the mountain from the sea.