Case file · High strangeness
Mazuku, the evil winds of Lake Kivu
Around Goma and the shores of Lake Kivu, people speak of mazuku, 'evil winds' that kill children and animals in hollows without warning; after the 2002 Nyiragongo eruption they claimed more victims.
2002 CE · -1.68, 29.22 · status: explained
The account
The hollows collect cold carbon dioxide seeping from the volcanic ground. Being heavier than air, the gas pools invisibly and suffocates anything that walks in. Scientists also watch the huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane dissolved in Lake Kivu itself, which could one day erupt as Lake Nyos did in 1986.
The sceptical view
Fully explained by volcanic gas; the name and fear predate the science.