Year: 2021

Kinshasa, DRC, May 23, 2021 — The IRC is extremely concerned about the aftermath of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano eruption yesterday. Thousands of people fled their homes last night as the lava approached the main city of Goma, home to more than 2 million people. All IRC staff are safe and accounted for. At least six villages have been destroyed. Local authorities have not yet been able to confirm the number of people killed. The last eruption in 2002 killed more than 250 people and left 120,000 people homeless. The IRC plans to respond, providing assistance to meet the most urgent needs, and is calling for an increase in funding and support from the international community.

Kate Moger, Regional Vice President of the Great Lakes, at the IRC, said

“The memory of the 2002 eruption is still raw, and yesterday’s eruption has led to mass displacement. People are fearing a second eruption. It’s still too early to assess the extent of the damage, but the humanitarian impact is already significant. IRC will begin a needs assessment as soon as it is safe, and we are already seeing many children who have been separated from their parents and carers and people sheltering in government buildings (and schools, etc) in Goma. The IRC has been working in the DRC for 25 years, and we are preparing our response, which will launch as soon as possible.

“This region is still reeling from two Ebola outbreaks, the severe impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak which has led to massive food insecurity, and years of conflict and violence. This catastrophic event will compound the already dire situation facing the Congolese people in the region. There are already 5.2 million people displaced within DRC from previous conflict and disasters; the highest number of people displaced within any country in Africa. We are there and ready, but we need more funds to help us reach those in need.”

The Nyiragongo volcano, which overlooks the eastern city of Goma, is one of the most active in the world. It erupted on Saturday, May 22, prompting thousands of people to flee to Rwanda and other parts of DRC. The last eruption in 2002 was devastating and led to major humanitarian needs. DRC authorities are saying this eruption appears similar to that in 2002. People will need shelter, water and sanitation, economic support, protection and psychosocial support.

The IRC has been working in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1996 responding to the humanitarian crisis in the east. It has since evolved into one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance and post-conflict development, with life-saving programming in health, economic recovery, women’s and children’s protection, and livelihoods.

 

 

Source: International Rescue Committee

GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Lava from a volcanic eruption approached the airport of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s main city of Goma late Saturday, and the government urged residents to evacuate.

As the red glow of Mount Nyiragongo tinged the night sky above the lakeside city of about 2 million, thousands of Goma residents carrying mattresses and other belongings fled the city on foot, many toward the frontier with Rwanda.

Nyiragongo’s last eruption in 2002 killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless. It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and is considered among the most dangerous.

Rwanda’s Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management said more than 3,500 Congolese had crossed the border. Rwandan state media said they would be lodged in schools and places of worship.

‘Goma is the target’

New fractures were opening in the volcano, letting lava flow south toward the city after initially flowing east toward Rwanda, said Dario Tedesco, a volcanologist based in Goma.

“Now Goma is the target,” Tedesco told Reuters. “It’s similar to 2002. I think that the lava is going towards the city center.

“It might stop before or go on. It’s difficult to forecast.”

 

Emmanuel de Merode, head of Virunga National Park, asked park employees in parts of Goma to evacuate, according to a note seen by Reuters. He said lava had reached the international airport on the eastern edge of the city but that it was not likely to reach other parts of Goma.

Celestin Kasereka, head of scientific research at the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG), told reporters he did not think the lava was flowing fast enough to reach Goma.

A U.N. source said all U.N. aircraft had been evacuated to the city of Bukavu to the south and Entebbe in neighboring Uganda. The power was also out across much of Goma.

Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde convened an emergency meeting in the capital, Kinshasa, where the government activated an evacuation plan for Goma.

“We hope that the measures that have been taken this evening will allow the population to reach the points that were indicated to them in this plan,” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in comments broadcast on national television.

President Felix Tshisekedi will cut short a trip to Europe to return to Congo on Sunday, the presidency said on Twitter.

In the grip of panic

On the streets of Goma, panic spread quickly.

“We are panicked because we have just seen the entire city covered by a light that is not electricity or lamps,” said John Kilosho. “We don’t know what to do. We don’t even know how to behave. There is no information.”

Others fled to the city center from villages and neighborhoods threatened by lava on the northern outskirts.

“We looked at the sky and saw the red color of the volcano,” said Richard Hazika Diouf from the Majengo neighborhood. “We have fled to seek shelter in town.”

Volcano watchers have been worried that the volcanic activity observed in the last five years at Nyiragongo mirrors that in the years preceding eruptions in 1977 and 2002.

Volcanologists at the OVG, which monitors Nyiragongo, have struggled to make regular, basic checks since the World Bank cut funding amid embezzlement allegations.

 

Source: Voice of America