DR Congo: Volcano threatens new eruption, locals flee
Magma was detected below the city of Goma and an eruption could occur with no warning, officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have said.
The volcano has already destroyed several homes in Goma
Residents of the DR Congo city of Goma were told to evacuate Thursday as officials warned that the nearby Mount Nyiragongo volcano might erupt for a second time at any moment.
Constant Ndima Kongba, the military governor of the North Kivu province, said magma was detected underneath the city and adjoining Lake Kivu, citing seismic and ground deformation data. The molten rock that erupts from volcanoes normally stays below the earth s crust.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun counting the physical and human cost on Sunday of a volcanic eruption. Mount Nyiragongo erupted late on Saturday night, prompting the evacuation of Goma.
Congo volcano leaves death and smoking wreckage, but major city spared
Reuters | May 24, 2021 11:09 PM EDT
An aerial view shows lava flowing from the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Photo : in the Democratic Republic of the Congo/Handout via REUTERS)
A volcanic eruption in eastern Congo left a smoking trail of destruction half a mile wide on Sunday that buried hundreds of houses and left residents searching for missing loved ones, before halting just short of the city of Goma.
Goma was thrown into panic on Saturday evening as Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world s most active and dangerous volcanoes, erupted, turning the night sky an eerie red and sending a wall of orange lava downhill towards the lakeside city of about 2 million people.
Mt. Nyiragongo eruption forces nearby residents to flee
The figure could still rise as provincial authorities from hard-hit villages continue to assess the damage. A total of 17 outlying villages were hit, Muyaya said.
Community members have given a provisional toll of 10 dead in Bugamba alone, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Thousands flee Goma
The International Federation of Red Cross said that between 3,000 and 5,000 people fled into Rwanda on Saturday, many of them peasants and farmers with livestock. Some began returning on Sunday.
A further 25,000 others sought refuge to the northwest in Sake, UNICEF, the UN children s agency, said on Sunday.