Volcanic aftershocks affect eastern DRC, creating fears of new eruption Volcanic News

Strong accidents following the volcano on Mount Nyiragon in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have shaken as the death toll from the latest eruption that displaced hundreds of families has risen to 32.

Three days after the most active volcano in Africa came back to life, tremors shook the region every 10 to 15 minutes on Tuesday morning. A few centimeters (more than an inch) wide cracks appeared on the ground and on roads in various areas, including near the main hospital in Goma, a city of about two million people about 12 kilometers from Mount Nyiragon.

“The situation in the city is mixed. People don’t know which way to go, ”a neighbor told AFP news agency.

“Some are coming back, others are leaving, people are still scared.”

Tens of thousands of residents fled in terror, many of them near Rwanda when the volcano erupted on Saturday evening.

Two rivers of molten rock flowed from the volcano at an altitude of 1,800 meters (5,900 feet). One set out for Goma, stopping on the outskirts of the city.

On his way he surrounded the houses, drowned the area with suffocating gas and cut off the road between Goma and Butembo, the main highway in North Kivu province.

“Twenty-two people have been killed in eruption-related incidents, including seven people killed by lava and five asphyxiated by gas,” the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in a statement, raising the toll earlier – from NGOs and other sources – to 20 dead.

“The lava flow stopped on Sunday, but since the eruption earthquakes have recurred and the lava lake in the volcanic crater seems to have filled up again, creating fears of opening new cracks or another eruption,” he added, noting that much effort has been made. hundreds of children fled the family on their way to reunite.

Five people were killed as a result of the drowning on Monday after Gomatik tried to cross the lava north 13 km north, civil society chief Mambo Kawaya told AFP.

Several strong accidents were also detected in Rwanda on Monday, including a 5.1-magnitude earthquake under Lake Kivu, the Rwanda Seismic Monitor said.

The so-called stratovolcano, which is almost 3,500 meters high, is a notable fracture called the East African rupture in Nyiragon. The last major eruption, in 2002, killed dozens of lives.

DRC authorities have urged residents to be vigilant and avoid walking on the lava.

“People who gather on lava rocks without being sure are strong are at risk of sinking inland,” said Joseph Makundi, head of civil protection in North Kivu province.

Raphael Tenaud, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Goma, said the lava had destroyed four large villages and damaged 12 others.

Humanitarian groups say between 900 and 2,500 homes were destroyed, he said, which means at least 5,000 people were homeless.

On the evening and Sunday of the eruption, 25,000 people fled, Tenaud said.

“Many of these displaced people have started to return to Gomara, some have even returned to the site of the disaster, near the lava flow,” he told AFP news agency.

“Some are still displaced because they are afraid to return, others have been or are unable to return home and there are others who are no longer homeless.”

Tenaud said the damage to a reservoir could affect the water supply of about half a million people.

“The main problem will be the problem of access to drinking water, and all the consequences that can arise from it,” he added, citing the risk of disease.

The ICRC will set up a pumping station that is not used to extract water, and the water will also be distributed by tanker trucks, Tenaud said.

Most of the city’s eastern hospitals have been closed, although four western hospitals are operating, he added.