Sat 22 May 2021:
The Mount Nyiragongo volcano suddenly burst into activity on Saturday, spewing red fumes into the night sky, said an AFP reporter in the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma.
Power was cut in the city and some residents began leaving their homes and heading towards the nearby border with Rwanda.
Residents picked up a strong smell of sulphur on the streets of the eastern town, which sits on the mountain’s southern flank and the north shore of Lake Kivu.
However no flow of lava could be seen from the city, the correspondent said.
The Mount Nyiragongo #volcano suddenly burst into activity on Saturday, spewing red fumes into the night sky, said an AFP reporter in the nearby Democratic Republic of #Congo city of Goma. pic.twitter.com/ctTu1ANBfi
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 22, 2021
The last time Nyiragongo erupted was January 17, 2002, killing more than a hundred people and covering almost all of the eastern part of Goma with lava, including half of the airport’s landing strip.
Hundreds of thousands fled the city.
The deadliest eruption of the 3,000-metre high volcano was in 1977, when more than 600 died.
The Goma region, which lies in North Kivu province, bordering Rwanda and Uganda, has six volcanoes, all higher than 3,000 metres.
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