Mass evacuation in Goma, DR Congo after second volcano warning

On 27th May, thousands started fleeing the city of Goma in DR
Congo to escape another eruption from Mount Nyiragongo, one of
the world’s most active volcanoes. After the first eruption the city has been rocked by a series of
tremors and minor earthquakes. Authorities have asked over a million people to evacuate the city
from 10 of the 18 districts in the city. Approximately 4kms below the ground, scientists have detected ‘magma’ or ‘a lake of fire’ whose tectonic activity could potentially
lead to another eruption.The eruption this year was different from the last two eruptions
the city has faced because it came without warning. By the time the people in surrounding areas realised that the volcano was erupting, the sky had already turned crimson red with
lava pouring out for over 5 hours. According to the latest count, 32 people have died because of the
previous lava flow and asphyxiation from gases. Since the 2002 eruption, the number of people living near the volcano has doubled, bringing the count to almost 2 million. While some people have started moving towards Rwanda again, others are going towards the port near Lake Kivu. But this could prove to be more fatal as the 1500 feet deep lake has been formed by the same geological factors as Mount Nyiragongo. Scientists fear that if the lakebed is destabilised by tremors and
then exposed to lava, the gases that are released can be very dangerous to people in the vicinity.