Case file · Folklore / legend
Lake Monoun's killing cloud
On 15 August 1984, 37 people died near Lake Monoun in western Cameroon. Survivors spoke of a smell and a cloud; some suspected spirits of the lake or a chemical attack.
1984 CE · 5.58, 10.59 · status: explained
The account
Investigators concluded that carbon dioxide from volcanic sources had built up in the deep water and burst out in a sudden overturn. It was the first known 'limnic eruption', two years before Lake Nyos.