MOUNT Nyiragongo, a volcano in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, erupted yesterday, a volcanologist in the nearby city of Goma told Reuters.
“I can see high lava fountains and I think it’s likely it will be in Goma very soon,” said the volcanologist, Dario Tedesco. “For the moment people are not evacuating.”
Nyiragongo last erupted in 2002, killing 250 people and making 120,000 homeless after lava flowed into Goma. Tedesco said the volcano has some of the fastest lava in the world.
Volcano watchers have been worried that the volcanic activity observed in the last five years mirrors that in the years preceding eruptions in 1977 and 2002.
Volcanologists at the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG), which monitors Nyiragongo, have struggled to make basic checks since the World Bank cut funding amid embezzlement allegations.
