Smoke and flames rise from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Goma. Photo: ReutersLava from a volcanic eruption reached the airport of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's main city of Goma on Saturday (local time), as thousands evacuated the city. Goma residents, recalling Mount Nyiragongo's last eruption in 2002, which killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless, grabbed mattresses and other belongings. In Kinshasa, the capital, Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, convened an emergency meeting, where the government activated an evacuation plan for Goma. Volcanologists at the Goma Volcano Observatory, which monitors Nyiragongo, have struggled to make basic checks on a regular basis since the World Bank cut funding amid embezzlement allegations.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 22, 2021 22:07 UTC