© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
Volcanoes
© REUTERS/Djaffar Al Katanty
A Congolese family evacuate from recurrent earth tremors as aftershocks following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo May 27, 2021.
A Congolese family evacuate from recurrent earth tremors as aftershocks following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo volcano near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo May 27, 2021.
On Friday morning, Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, was almost deserted, with shops closed and just a handful of people on the streets.
Ndima Kongba, the military governor of North Kivu province, ordered the evacuation of the city of 600,000 people on Thursday amid fears of further volcanic activity after Saturday's eruption.
Comment: Other volcanic and seismic activity of late:
- 2 separate earthquakes strike China - one of magnitude 7.3 - three dead, dozens hurt
- Alaska's Great Sitkin volcano erupts: US Geological Survey issues 'red warning' for aviation
- M4.2 quake shakes Lake Tahoe, comes amidst uptick in activity in region
- Ebeko volcano in the Kuril Islands, Russia throws ash to a height of 3 km
- Big eruption at Stromboli volcano, Italy
- Huge lava eruption at Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland
Great Sitkin volcano erupts
In a statement on Wednesday morning, the USGS said volcanic activity on Great Sitkin Island had been confirmed by geophysical data. The volcano started erupting at 21:04 on Tuesday, with an explosion that lasted a couple of minutes, and was continuing to erupt at the time of its latest update.
It had issued a joint 'red warning' to aviation with the AVO after observations suggested the ash plume was as high as 15,000ft (4,600m).
"Since that explosion, seismicity has decreased, and satellite images show that the ash cloud has detached from the vent and is moving towards the east," the AVO said in a recent update.
Nyiragongo volcano erupts in DR Congo triggering evacuation in Goma - Death toll reaches 32 - UPDATE
© REUTERS/Olivia Acland
A general view shows smoke and flames at the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo May 22, 2021
A general view shows smoke and flames at the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo May 22, 2021
The volcano began erupting around 7:00 pm local time on Saturday. Footage shared online shows Nyiragongo spitting smoke and fire into the air, turning the night skies red.
The Mount is located some 10 km (6 miles) north of Goma, a city of some 670,000 people, which in turn is only 1 km (0.6 mi) away from the Rwandan border.
Comment:
Update: Aerial images show the destruction to the region in east Democratic Republic of Congo after the nighttime eruption of Mount Nyiragongo sent thousands of terrified residents fleeing in panic.
More footage of the lava flows:
Update 2: AP reports on May 24:
Death toll from Congo volcano eruption rises to at least 32
Officials say the death toll from the volcanic eruption in eastern Congo two days ago has risen to at least 32 people, while residents search for missing loved ones amid destroyed homes on the outskirts of the eastern city of Goma where aftershocks were detected. The head of Civil Protection for the North Kivu province gave the updated death toll, saying it is likely to keep rising. Joseph Makundi says some people were killed by the lava, some from resulting car accidents and others from inhaling toxic gas released from the cooling lava. Mount Nyiragongo turned the sky fiery red Saturday night and spewed torrents of lava into villages, killing people and destroying more than 500 homes.
© AP
Lava from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo cuts through Buhene north of Goma, Congo, May 24, 2021.
Lava from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo cuts through Buhene north of Goma, Congo, May 24, 2021.
The quake, measured at 5.3 magnitude by the Rwandan Seismic Monitor, was the largest of over 100 tremors that have followed the eruption on Saturday of Congo's Mount Nyiragongo volcano, one of the world's most active and dangerous.
"We know that children were injured when a building collapsed on Tuesday just a few steps from the UNICEF office in Goma," the U.N.children's agency said.
The quake appeared to have destroyed several buildings in the city of two million, and a witness said at least three people were pulled from the rubble and taken to hospital.
It struck at 11:03 a.m., originating in Rugerero sector in western Rwanda, according to the Rwanda Seismic Monitor.
"This morning, the Crisis Management Center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Sakhalin Region received information that an ash release occurred on the Ebeko volcano to an altitude of 3 km," RIA Novosti reports.
As it gets thinned, the plume spread southeastward for a distance of up to 5 km.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, no ash falls were observed in Severo-Kurilsk.
© YouTube/Disaster Compilations (screen capture)
A strong blast occurred on the nearby Aeolian island of Stromboli just before 15.00 this afternoon, the latest in an "intense phase of renewed volcanic activity," according to INGV.
© YouTube/Global News (screen capture)
Another vigorous eruption, lasting about 11 minutes, occurred at 04:48 local time this morning at the volcano.
According to PVMBG volcano observatory, a dense dark ash plume rose to estimated 6 km altitude and drifted east and south.
The explosion also triggered pyroclastic flows (gravity-driven mass flows) over the E-SE slopes reaching length of at least 3000 m.
Lava flows from an eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland on Thursday, May 13, 2021.
The fountains generally reach 250 meters in height in average during the strong sustained phase, but sometimes can reach 350 meters in height during the most energetic episodes.
The construction of a wall to prevent lava flowing in Nátthagi has begun yesterday.
Comment: 'Limnic eruption' threatens to smother Kivu area with deadly gas in DR Congo, 600,000 people evacuated