The Volcanological Observatory in Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, reported on Monday evening that a
"fiery glow"
was observed at the top of a volcano in the region, without posing any risk to the city, affected in 2021 by the eruption of another volcano.
“From 6:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. GMT), a fiery glow was observed at the top of the Nyamulagira volcano”
, neighboring Nyiragongo, whose eruption in May 2021 killed 32 people and destroyed several hundred houses in Goma, provincial capital of North Kivu, according to the observatory.
"Keep calm"
"Current seismicity data indicate a movement of magmas at shallow depths towards the central crater"
of Nyamulagira, the observatory said in a statement.
"If the current activity (...) leads to an eruption on the flank, the lava would be oriented in the Virunga National Park".
The observatory recommends to the population of Goma, a city of more than one million inhabitants located on the Rwandan border, to
“keep calm and go about their business freely”.
However, he specifies that
“volcanic products”
such as ash and slag “
can fall back into inhabited areas”
and asks in particular to respect the instructions for washing vegetables.
He also recommends
"airmen"
to take into account the direction of the wind when flying over the Virunga region.
Unlike Nyiragongo, which directly threatens Goma in the event of an eruption, previous external eruptions of Nyamulagira have flowed into Virunga Park or nearby roads.
