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CatastropheAfrica

DR Congo: Volcano eruption sparks panic in Goma

May 22, 2021

The Congolese government said it was evacuating Goma, a city of nearly 2 million people, after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo. Lava stopped short of the urban areas.

https://p.dw.com/p/3tp09
Two people are seen silhouetted against a night sky turned red by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, in Goma, Congo Saturday, May 22, 2021
People evacuated Goma as it was unclear whether the city would be safe from the volcano's lavaImage: Justin Kabumba/AP Photo/picture alliance

A smoking trail of lava from a volcanic eruption appeared to have stopped a few hundred meters short of the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on Sunday.

The military governor of the region said: "The lava halted near Buhene on the outskirts of Goma" but that the city itself had been "spared."

Nevertheless, General Constant Ndima said that five people had lost there lives in related accidents.

The top of the Nyiragongo volcanic crater
The deadliest eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano was in 1977, when over 600 people diedImage: Pablo Porciuncula/Getty Images/AFP

Evacuation

Late Saturday, Mount Nyiragongo erupted, turning the sky red and bringing a strong smell of sulfur to the streets of the city which is home to nearly 2 million people, as power outages were reported in multiple locations.

Thousands grabbed their belongings and fled towards the nearby border with Rwanda.

"I am taking the children and getting into the car. There is a risk that the lava will flow on Goma," a local told the AFP news agency.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed plans to evacuate the city while an official from Virunga National Park, where the volcano is located, told his staff in a memo that "the situation is deteriorating."

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said he would "interrupt his stay in Europe to return home this Sunday to supervise the coordination of aid."

Lava flows toward Goma from second crack

Officials confirmed an eruption at Mount Nyiragongo. The volcano last erupted in 2002, with some 250 people losing their lives and lava destroying approximately one-fifth of city, including airport runways. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated.

Goma-based volcanologist Dario Tedesco initially told Reuters news agency that the city did not appear to be at risk, but later Saturday a second fracture opened in the volcano, allowing lava to flow towards Goma.

North Kivu military governor Constant Ndima called on the resident to remain calm.

"Investigations are underway and people must follow the guidance of civil protection," he said.

Witnesses, though, said lava had engulfed one highway that connects Goma with the city of Beni in North Kivu province and had reached Goma's airport.

Volcano observatory in crisis

The Goma region, in DRC's North Kivu province, has six volcanoes. All of them are higher than 3,000 meters (9,843 feet). Two of them are highly active and have a recent record of eruptions.

Earlier this year, researchers working at the Goma Volcano Observatory reported signals that an eruption might be on the way. However, the observatory has been struggling to maintain its operations after the World Bank pulled funding over embezzlement claims.

jsi, dj/sms (Reuters, AFP)

Correction: A previous version of this article said there were six, instead of two, active volcanoes in the area.