Tens of thousands of people flee to nearby regions
Report by Ananya Singh
Goma, May 24: Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano in the Goma city of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) erupted on May 22nd, around 7 pm, turned the dark sky fiery red and brought dirty thunderstorms (when ash, rocks, and magma collide during an eruption, it produces lightning around the volcano, also known as ‘Dirty Thunderstorm’) and tremors to nearby regions.
Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde called an emergency meeting in Kinshasa, the capital city of DCR and planned for evacuation for citizens of Goma in collaboration with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda. Tens of thousands of people fled from the nearby villages to find shelter in Rwanda. Power was switched off in the city of Goma to prevent fires from erupting and aircrafts were evacuated to the city of Bukavu and Entebbe (in Uganda) as a precautionary measure. Seven hours after the eruption, the lava came to a standstill and most people have since returned home.
At 11, 500 feet tall, Mount Nyiragongo is a part of the Virunga Mountains that is a chain of volcanoes located near the DRC’s border with Uganda and Rwanda. It is considered one of the world’s most active and dangerous volcanoes. What makes it dangerous is the low-silica content in its lava, which makes the lava more fluid and swift-flowing.
Mount Nyiragongo is a stratovolcano. A stratovolcano is a steep conical shaped volcano with one layer of hardened lava. Experts at Goma Volcano Observatory (GMV) monitor temperature, seismic activity, and gas emission at the volcano. The volcano last erupted in 2002.
