Two strong earthquakes were felt at dawn on Wednesday (26), in the city of Goma, located at the foot of the Nyiragongo volcano, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
As in the previous two days, tremors were felt throughout the night, which caused fear in the residents. Many were unable to sleep.
One of the two strong earthquakes, at 5:45 am local time (12:45 am in Brasilia), caused panic in the city, prompting many people to hurry out of their homes. That earthquake was 5.1 magnitude, said RSM, Rwanda’s public seismic monitoring agency, whose border is adjacent to Goma.
It is not yet possible to know the extent of the damage in Goma and the neighboring Rwandan city of Gisenyi.
On Tuesday, due to violent earthquakes, at least four buildings partially collapsed, including a three-story building, in which eight people were injured.
Tonight, many inhabitants, especially those in multi-storey buildings, preferred to sleep outdoors.
Authorities said earthquakes are expected to subside.
On Monday, 119 earthquakes of varying intensity were recorded, according to the local volcanology service.
The sudden eruption on Saturday night of the Nyiragongo volcano, which dominates Goma and Lake Kivu, caused fear and flight of populations. Since then, most have lived in fear of a new eruption and of those repeated earthquakes that rock the region.
At least 32 people have died since the unexpected outbreak on Saturday, according to the latest assessment by local authorities. Seven of the victims died of asphyxiation from toxic fumes on Monday as they walked over the lava flow.
