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As some residents left their homes and headed to the nearby Rwandan border, the city of Goma had no electricity.
One of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mount Nyiragongo in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo erupted, and panicked residents of nearby Goma fled, even though a volcanologist said the city did not appear to be dangerous.
There was a power outage in the city, and some residents began to leave their homes and head to the border near Rwanda on Saturday.
Goma is the military governor of North Kivu, the capital, “confirmed the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano at around 7:00 p.m.” [17:00 GMT]”.
General Constantine Ndima said: “The investigation is ongoing, and people must follow the guidelines of citizen protection” and called for “calm down.”
Residents picked up a strong smell of sulfur on the streets of the eastern town, which is located on the southern side of the mountain and on the northern shore of Lake Kivu.
Dario Tedesco, a volcanologist with nearly 2 million lakeside cities, told Reuters that Goma did not appear to be threatened and the lava appeared to be flowing eastward-towards the Rwandan border. Earlier he said that he thought lava might hit Goma, but later he said that was not the case.
“I can see tall lava fountains,” Tedesco told Reuters.
#RDC: The government stated that it is closely monitoring the situation in Goma, especially the activities of the Nilangongo volcano. Patrick Muyaya said, “The local government is currently assessing the situation with the volcano observatory in Goma, and will conduct detailed communications later.” pic.twitter.com/uCkuDAhL8h
-Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala (@StanysBujakera) May 22, 2021
Translation: “The government stated that it is closely monitoring the situation in Goma, especially the activities of the Nyiragongo volcano. According to Patrick Muyaya [a Congolese politician]Reporter Stanis Bujakera wrote on Twitter: “The local government is currently assessing the situation with the Goma Volcano Observatory and will communicate in detail later.”
The last time Nyiragongo erupted in 2002, after lava flowed into Goma, it killed 250 people and made 120,000 homeless.
Volcano observers have been concerned that the volcanic activity observed in Nyiragongo in the last five years is similar to the situation in the years before the eruption in 1977 and 2002.
Volcanologists at the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG), which monitors Nyiragongo, have been working hard to conduct basic inspections because the World Bank cut funds amid allegations of embezzlement of public funds.
Steam and jets of molten rock are depicted in the lava lake of Nyiragongo, an active volcano in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo [File: AFP]
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