Mount Nyiragongo: DR Congo Plans to Evacuate City as Volcano Eruptshttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57215690The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo has launched an evacuation plan for the eastern city of Goma after a large volcano erupted.Fountains of high lava burst from the Mount Nyiragongo into the night sky forming a thick orange cloud over Goma, which has a
population of two million.
Thousands of panic-stricken residents were fleeing, many on foot.
The volcano, located 10km (six miles) from Goma, last erupted in 2002 killing 250 people and making 120,000 homeless.
Crowds were seen with mattresses and other belongings, fleeing towards the border with Rwanda to the east, even before the government's announcement, which came several hours after the eruption started.
The lack of immediate announcements from authorities and conflicting accounts circulating on social media only added to the sense of chaos in Goma.
... A new fracture opened up on the volcano, enabling lava to flow south towards Goma and reach the airport, on the eastern edge of the city. Electricity was out across large areas, and one highway that connects Goma with the city of Beni had already been engulfed by the lava.Video: https://mobile.twitter.com/paulakahumbu/status/1396179858238156806https://mobile.twitter.com/StanysBujakera/status/1396173632703971329Mount Nyiragongo is one of the world's more active volcanos but there were concerns that its activity had not been properly observed by the Goma Volcano Observatory, since the World Bank cut funding amid allegations of corruption.
In a report on 10 May, the observatory warned that seismic activity at Nyiragongo had increased. The volcano's deadliest eruption happened in 1977, when more than 600 people died.
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A new flank eruption started at the volcano this afternoon. It seems that a fissure opened on the eastern(?) flank, and drained the lava lake inside the volcano.
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.
The flank effusive eruption of the volcano continues at high levels and illuminates sky over capital city of Goma.
The new eruptive fissure vent on the eastern flank, as reported observers in social media, feeding fast-flowing lava flows that continue to advance towards Busambali, Byungo, Mudja province including Goma capital city and are expected to threaten inhabited areas.
... “Now Goma is the target,” Tedesco told Reuters. “It’s similar to 2002. I think that the lava is going towards the city centre. It might stop before or go on. It’s difficult to forecast.”
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Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and, along with Cameroonian Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, is one of three that are known to undergo limnic eruptions. Around the lake, geologists[4] found evidence of massive local extinctions about every thousand years, presumably caused by outgassing events. The trigger for lake overturns in Lake Kivu are unknown, but volcanic activity is suspected. The gaseous chemical composition of exploding lakes is unique to each lake. In Lake Kivu's case, it includes methane and carbon dioxide, as a result of lake water interaction with volcanic hot springs.[5]
The amount of methane is estimated to be 65 cubic kilometres (16 cu mi). If burnt over one year, it would give an average power of about 100 gigawatts (130×106 hp) for the whole period. There is also an estimated 256 cubic kilometres (61 cu mi) of carbon dioxide. The water temperature is 24 °C (75 °F), and the pH is about 8.6.[citation needed] The methane is reported to be produced by microbial reduction of the volcanic CO2.[6] A future overturn and gas release from the deep waters of Lake Kivu would result in catastrophe, dwarfing the historically documented lake overturns at Lakes Nyos and Monoun. The lives of the approximately two million people who live in the lake basin area would be threatened.
The risk posed by Lake Kivu began to be understood during the analysis of more recent events at Lake Nyos. Lake Kivu's methane was originally thought to be merely a cheap natural resource for export, and for the generation of cheap power. Once the mechanisms that caused lake overturns began to be understood, so did awareness of the risk the lake posed to the local population.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Kivu