Nyiragongo: Shocking images of a sudden eruption of a volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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- BBC News World
Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo on Saturday afternoon.
As red smoke filled the air and rivers of lava flowed down the hillside, fears began to spread that the deadly tragedies of the past would be repeated.
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has ordered the evacuation of the city of Goma, in the east of the country and on the border with Rwanda.
Lava reached the city’s airport early Sunday morning. “The situation is deteriorating,” an official from Virunga National Park, where the volcano is located, told his staff.
The power grid suffered from a power outage In vast areas, lava swallowed the road connecting Goma to the city of Beni.
There was also earthquake reports.
Its two million inhabitants had to leave everything behind in a mass eviction, Despite the passage of time, some residents were able to return to their homes.
Much of the city was saved.
The last volcano was located 10 kilometers from Goma, and it last erupted in 2002.
Then it killed 250 people and displaced 120 thousand.
At the moment, the authorities have not published an official record of the victims of this explosion, and it is not clear how many homes were damaged.
Nyiragongo is an active volcanic stratum with a height of 3,470 meters In Virunga National Park, About 10 kilometers north of Goma and Lake Kivu.
Virunga National Park, established in 1925 under the name Albert National Park, covers an area of 7,800 square kilometers and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The park employs approx 500 Rangers Fighting poachers and illegal coal producers.
“The lava flow stopped at about 4:00 am in Bohini (a town outside Goma), in Nyiragongo province.
The Ministry of Communication and Information confirmed via Twitter, “Since the early hours of this morning, residents have returned to their homes in the neighborhoods they left at night.”
Areas on the outskirts of Goma that residents “must be resettled”, Tom Per-Costa, the regional spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council for Central and West Africa, told EFE he was in town.
“People who fled to Rwanda are already returning but The great ruin is that they found their homes “And the same for those who fled to Sake,” Prince Badjika, a resident of Goma, told Eve by phone.
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