May 22, 2021 Eruption of Nyiragongo
Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo erupted on May 22, 2021 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 2. The eruption killed 32 people.
Where it erupted
Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with its other significant eruptions.
The eruption
- Date
- May 22, 2021
- Volcano
- Nyiragongo, stratovolcano
- Volcanic Explosivity Index
- 2, moderate (eruption column 1 to 5 km)
- Killed by
- Lava flows; Indirect deaths (disease, starvation, exposure); Seismic, or volcanic earthquake (tectonic earthquake deaths excluded)
- Earthquake
- Yes: the earthquake with it
- Location
- 1.520° S, 29.250° E
The toll
- Deaths
- 32
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 5,000
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.
Initial reports on 23 May 2021 reported 15 fatalities that included deaths from road accidents during an evacuation of Goma and its surroundings, and include four deaths that happened during an attempted prisoner escape at Munzenze. Two of the dead were overcome by fire and lava that coursed into some 17 villages but stopped short of the border city of Goma. According to Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) estimates, six-hundred homes around Goma had been destroyed and five schools flattened. (Reference #12942, Reference #12943)
On 26 May 2021, the death toll was increased to 32 with at least 2,500 homes destroyed by sudden lava flows. (Reference #12945)
While 32 persons are feared dead, at least 400,000 people are currently internally displaced in DRC while 7,000 persons have fled to Rwanda as refugees. Five schools and several health infrastructure were destroyed by the lava. It is reported that at least 5,000 households have lost their homes and property. (Reference #12962)
Other significant eruptions of Nyiragongo
More
Every eruption in 2021The 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 7536.