Its last eruption in 2002 claimed the lives of hundreds
A volcano erupted near the city of Goma in eastern DRC tonight, illuminating the red sky and causing panic among the city’s population of nearly 2 million people, local authorities said, quoted by the Associated Press.
#last minute #eraser ???????? | #Congo Lava spreads rapidly causing fires and roadblocks. The population is evacuating and they fear that the fire will reach nearby towns. #Nyiragongo. ????????️????️ pic.twitter.com/V9i4BWy36M
– IƬ’Ƨ MΣ MΛЯIӨ ???????? ???????????? ???? ???????? (@VenezuelaXpresa) May 22, 2021
Nyamulagira volcano erupted at around 7pm local time, said Honore Ciraba, a volcanologist at the Goma Volcano Observatory.
The Mighty Mount #Nyiragongoerupts spilling Lava down the villages in Goma. Democratic Republic of the Congo pic.twitter.com/tLI8CnAR8I
– Jamal (@Jamalomwanda) May 22, 2021
The eruption caused confusion and fear after the governor said that the volcano Piiragongo had erupted. Its last eruption in 2002 claimed the lives of hundreds of locals and covered the runways of the airport with lava. Chiraba said lava from Nyamulagira Volcano usually flows to Virunga National Park, not Goma.
➡Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo entered
eruption. Via: CDN 22M
• Abundant lava flows pic.twitter.com/mPln4YnElG– Altamira Caracas Station (@pluvaltamira) May 22, 2021
The Congolese government has launched a plan to evacuate the eastern city of Goma after the volcano erupted, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on Twitter.
Electricity has been cut off in much of the city and hundreds of locals, often with their entire families, are leaving on foot, on motorcycles and cars, heading for the nearby border with Rwanda.
Source: BTA
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