Situated near Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Nyiragongo, which erupted on Saturday, is Africa’s most active volcano and is considered by specialists to be one of the most dangerous. At least 15 people were killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to the Congolese government. “These 15 people were killed while fleeing from the advancing lava. Nine of them perished in the accident of a truck transporting the victims, ”said Patrick Muyaya, government spokesman. More than 150 children have been separated from their families as a result of the eruption, Unicef warned.
The eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano was reported on Saturday night on the outskirts of the city. Thousands of people rushed to leave Goma, seeking refuge in the nearby town of Gisenyi, Rwanda. During the day on Sunday, several earthquakes were reported, causing panic along the border with Rwanda where more than 5,000 people remained while the office in charge of volcanic monitoring assured that the city of Goma and its surroundings are currently out of danger.
Two historic eruptions in 1977 and 2002
While the eruption took everyone by surprise, specialists knew this volcano could erupt sooner or later. Indeed, this stratovolcano which has fascinated entire generations of volcanologists is, along with Nyamuragira, one of the two volcanoes still active in the Virunga range, in this central African country. It is located in the densely populated region of Goma and poses a threat to around 1.5 million people.
Culminating at 3,470 meters, it is known to be home to the largest almost permanent lava lake in the world, the level of which rises and falls from time to time. Its dangerousness is due to the fact that its lava flows are extremely fast, being able to descend a slope at 100 km / h.
Its last eruption was on January 17, 2002. The volcano then spat a cloud of ash 3 km high and dumped between 15 and 25 million cubic meters of lava on the city of Goma.
He then killed more than 100 people and devastated central Goma, destroying nearly 14,000 homes and leaving 130,000 people homeless. Between 300,000 and 500,000 people had been displaced in neighboring Rwanda.
A previous eruption, in January 1977, had been even more deadly. The lava had also reached Goma and caused the death of several hundred people (the balance sheets vary from 600 to 2,000) in the northern outskirts of the city.
It is the deadliest lava flow known, as well as the largest flow (about 20 million cubic meters in half an hour). While the lake was at its highest level, a fracture cut into the volcano and molten lava rushed into it. For the first time in history, lava emerged outside the cone, hurtling down slopes and through villages at speeds varying between 60 and 100 km / h.
In 1982, a new lava lake reappeared and in 1994, as the genocide in Rwanda brought refugees to the area, new activity in Nyiragongo had caused great concern, as nearly 800,000 people were camping between Goma and the volcano. An eruption comparable to that of 1977 would then have provoked an unprecedented catastrophe.
Seven months without supervision
After the 2002 eruption, a seismic observatory was created in Goma, the Volcanological Observatory of Goma (OVG), in order to monitor both Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira. But this surveillance was interrupted for seven months, until last April, for lack of funding.
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