January 17, 2002 Eruption of Nyiragongo
Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo erupted on January 17, 2002 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 1. The eruption killed 100 people, counting its secondary effects.
Where it erupted
Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- January 17, 2002
- Volcano
- Nyiragongo, stratovolcano
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 1, small (eruption column 100 m to 1 km)
- Killed by
- Lava flows
- Location
- 1.520° S, 29.250° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 100
- Injuries
- 400; Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the tsunamis, mudflows and other effects it caused
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
About 100 persons, mostly children from the villages on the volcano flank, were killed by very high velocity lava flows, which entered the city of Goma; 20 persons died when hot lava flows ignited gas-station tanks on January 21. (reference #9675)
A major eruption began on January 17, 2002. The eruption caused lava flows that moved directly into the city of Goma and continued to Lake Kivu. Reports indicate that flows destroyed 25-75% of the city, including 10,000 homes. Approximately 45 people died as a direct result of the burning of homes. An additional 50-100 people were said to have died when hot lava caused a gas station to explode on January 21. Press accounts indicated that volcanologists tentatively suggested that Nyiragongo's volcanism was due to seismicity producing fissures up to several km in length along the E African rift, allowing magma to reach the surface. (reference #2432)
Other significant eruptions of Nyiragongo
More
Every eruption in 2002The 2000sNyiragongoEarthquakes near NyiragongoThis day in weather history
Sources
Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 4964.