Eastern DRC volcano erupts; prompts Goma evacuation

The volcanic eruption turned the sky red and brought a strong smell of sulfur to the streets of Goma on Saturday due to which power was out in multiple locations throughout the city.

A large number of people have so far been evacuated by the rescue teams.

??Activité volcanique aux alentours de Goma: la MONUSCO fait des vols de reconnaissance.

La lave ne semble pas se diriger vers la ville de Goma. Nous restons en alerte. pic.twitter.com/JQmz7v16Ne

— MONUSCO (@MONUSCO) May 22, 2021

Spokesman Patrick Muyaya turned to twitter and stated, “The government has activated its evacuation plans for the city”.

#RDC : En ce temps de crise, il faut se référer aux sources officielles d’informations que sont le gouvernement provincial du Nord Kivu et le gouvernement central #Nyiragongo pic.twitter.com/GBNJvhzmp8

— Patrick Muyaya (@PatrickMuyaya) May 23, 2021

As the lava is flowing towards the city of Goma, thousands of people grabbed their belongings and fled towards the nearby border with Rwanda.

At least 3000 people from Goma, in DRC, have already crossed to Rwanda fleeing the #Nyiragogo eruption, according to the latest figures from Rwanda immigration authorities at the Rwanda-DRC border #RBANews #NyiragongoErupts pic.twitter.com/KbdK6URBkb

— Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) (@rbarwanda) May 22, 2021

The volcano last erupted in 2002, with some 250 people losing their lives and lava destroying approximately one-fifth of city, including airport runways.

Goma-based volcanologist Dario Tedesco initially told a 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.

Reportedly, the Goma region, in DRC's North Kivu province, has six active volcanoes. All of them are higher than 3,000 meters (9,843 feet).

Earlier in 2021, 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.