Thousands of people evacuated from the Congolese city of Goma by the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano
The authorities of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have ordered the evacuation of the population of a part of the city due to the increasing risk of an eruption of the Nyirangongo volcano, which has caused the exodus of thousands of people. , according to AFP.
“Current seismicity and ground deformation data indicate the presence of magma under the urban area of Goma, with an extension under Lake Kivu,” the military governor of Goma declared in a message to the population in the local media. North Kivu province, General Constant Ndima.
“Currently, we cannot exclude the eruption on land or under the lake (Kivu) that could occur with little or no warning,” the governor told reporters, citing the names of four neighborhoods in the city “There are additional risks linked to the interaction between the lava and the water” of the lake, said the military governor Constant Ndima, in his order to evacuate the population.
Satellite image of the Nyiragongo volcano taken on the 25th.
“They are of several types: the interaction of magma with the lake water, the destabilization of the volume of dissolved gas under Lake Kivu and the emission of potentially dangerous surface gases”. added. “The situation can change rapidly, it is under constant surveillance” and “in anticipation of this eventual catastrophe, evacuation is mandatory and will be done towards Sake (a town 20 km west of Goma), it must be done calmly and without haste under the coordination of the humanitarians and with the means of transportation made available by the provincial authorities in each neighborhood,” the governor explained.
“People should take the minimum, so that everyone has a chance to embark after having carefully closed their houses,” he concluded. His announcement was followed by the immediate exodus of thousands of people to the southwest, in the direction of the Congolese region of Masisi, and the nearby Rwandan border.