The catastrophe was averted.
The city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was "spared" by lava from the Nyiragongo volcano, which erupted on Saturday evening, the region's military governor said on Sunday morning.
"The lava stopped towards Buhene, on the outskirts of Goma (...) The city was spared", declared General Constant Ndima, in a short audio speech on the public media.
🚨🚨Volcanic activity around Goma: MONUSCO makes reconnaissance flights.
The lava does not appear to be heading towards the city of Goma.
We remain on the alert.
pic.twitter.com/JQmz7v16Ne
- MONUSCO (@MONUSCO) May 22, 2021
The lava flow descended from the flanks of the Nyiragongo volcano, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), came to a stop on Sunday in the suburbs of Goma, narrowly sparing the city where the inhabitants were gradually returning home, worried in particular numerous earthquakes.
After fleeing the eruption by the thousands overnight, "the majority of people have returned or are on their way home," keeping a careful eye on the towering mountain towering over the city, one resident said. “But there are still the victims who no longer have homes. They have lost everything, they remain there, in families, stuck in front of the shops along the roads, there are very many of them, hundreds of people ... ”, according to this witness.
"The provisional toll is as follows: five people killed in accidents during population displacement," announced General Ndima, who has headed the province of North Kivu since the proclamation of a state of siege in the region on May 6 to fight against armed groups.
“Several thefts from shops and an attempted escape of prisoners” from the city prison were recorded, but “the situation is under control,” he said.
Thousands of people cross the border with Rwanda
In the outskirts of the city, in Buhene, "houses were ravaged by lava," said the general, without giving a quantified assessment of this destruction.
“More than 7,000 people have crossed the border into Rwanda.
They started to return to the city since this morning around 5 am, ”he added.
The populations who fled to the southwest, towards Sake, in the Masisi region, "are also starting to return to the city center", according to the senior officer.
"A large crisis meeting extended to MONUSCO
(Editor's note: the mission of the United Nations in the country)
, international and national non-governmental organizations, the provincial security committee and the town hall" will be held this Sunday for " assess the situation, ”he also announced.
In addition, tourists who were near the crater at the time of the eruption are "safe and sound," said the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) on Sunday.
“Mountain gorillas are not threatened,” added the organization.
The oldest nature reserve in Africa inaugurated in 1925, the Virunga Park is a sanctuary for the very rare mountain gorillas, also present in Rwanda and neighboring Uganda. Located on the border with Rwanda and Uganda, the park covers 7,800 km² in the province of North Kivu.