Photo: MOSES SAWASAWA / AFP / Getty Images
A volcano in the Republic of Congo erupted on Saturday , turning the sky a color threatening red and causing to activate evacuation plans in Goma, a large city that was devastated by the last activity of the Mount Nyiragongo , in 1977.
# BREAKING another footage of Volcano eruption in Goma. # Nyiragongo #Eraser # BreakingNews # DRC # Congo # RDC # InternationalLeaks pic.twitter.com/6sMDonhNpl
– International Leaks (@Internl_Leaks) May 16, 1233051873
The volcano in the Virunga Mountains in central Africa last flooded the city of Goma in January 2002 , leaving more than 80, 000 homeless and hundreds dead according to some estimates.
The UN mission MONUSCO tweeted that it was conducting reconnaissance flights and posted images of a burning landscape.
🚨🚨Activité Volcanique aux alentours de Goma: the MONUSCO fait des vols de reconnaissance.
The lave ne semble pas will go to the town of Goma. Nous restons en alert. pic.twitter.com/JQmz7v16 Ne
– MONUSCO (@MONUSCO) May 22, 2021
The President of Congo , Felix Tshisekedi, said on Twitter that would shorten his trip to Europe to return home on Sunday to coordinate aid.
More than a million people live near the active crater, on the border with Rwanda, and the city of Goma is only one dozen miles south of the volcano.
Just in: from @ club_congo
“The situation in the northern part of the city, in Buhene, the volcano is advancing but slowly, Goma airport threatened”
Thousands have fled across border to Gisenyi, Rwanda
🙏🏾🙏🏾Pray for # Rubber # Nyiragongo #volcano # eruption # DRC # RDC pic.twitter.com/0ReTH0ekVU– A Peace of Life (@apeaceoflife) May 22, 2021
A spokesman for the government of Congo , Patrick Muyaya , said on Twitter on Saturday that the government is closely monitoring the activity of the volcano and that Goma’s evacuation plan had been activated , and The Associated Press reported that thousands were already fleeing.
In this video you can see the lava burning on a road:
# BREAKING another footage of Volcano eruption in Goma. # Nyiragongo #Eraser # BreakingNews #DRC # Congo # RDC # InternationalLeaks # Nigeria # Volcano # BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/GTedJkZczs
– International Leaks (@Internl_Leaks) May 22, 1233051873
And people and vehicles can be seen on the road, in videos of the eruption shared on social media.
Thousands of residences of DR Congo’s city of Goma are fleeing to the neighboring city of Gisenyi in Rwanda as Nyiragongo volcano eruption continues.
In 1977, the volcano destroyed almost half of the city.
📺courtesy # FactsOnRwanda | # RwOT pic.twitter.com/9n5WNd5Z8a
– Facts On Rwanda (@FactsOnRwanda) May 22, 2021
Officials and experts have given mixed assessments of how much lava threatened Goma, reported The Washington Post .
Meanwhile, Goma residents are fleeing to nearby Rwanda, that opened the border with the Congo to allow them to pass:
Rwanda has opened the border with the DR Congo and inhabitants of # Goma run to cross the border, getting away as fast as possible from the evacuated city due to the volcano eruption # Nyiragongo https://t.co/j9l2LUySjH
– Gisli Olafsson (@gislio) May 23, 1233051873
Rwandan authorities said that about 3, 000 people had already officially crossed from Goma. Other Goma residents fled to higher ground west of the city.
Volcano watchers have been concerned that the volcanic activity observed in the past five years in the Mount Nyiragongo volcano reflects that of the years prior to the eruptions of 1977 Y 2002.
The volcanologists of the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG ), which Nyiragongo monitors, have struggled to do basic checks since the World Bank cut funding amid allegations of embezzlement.
Dario Tedesco , a volcanologist from Goma, told Reuters that lava was flowing into the city center after initially heading to Rwanda.
“Now Goma is the target,” said Tedesco. “Is similar to 2002.… It may stop earlier or continue. It is difficult to predict. ”