Thousands flee erupting Mt. Nyiragongo volcano in DR Congo |

Residents of the DR Congo city of Goma were told to evacuate Thursday as officials warned that the nearby Mount Nyiragongo volcano might erupt for a second time at any moment. Constant Ndima Kongba, the military governor of the North Kivu province, said magma was detected underneath the city and adjoining Lake Kivu, citing seismic and ground deformation data. The molten rock that erupts from volcanoes normally stays below the earth's crust.

The volcano is about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) north of Goma, home to more than 600,000 people. A total of nearly 2 million people live in Goma's greater urban area. The strato-volcano, which is nearly 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) high, erupted over the weekend, killing at least 31 people and leaving 20,000 homeless. Another 40 people are still missing from Saturday. Hundreds of aftershocks followed, destroying more buildings in the process. Mount Nyiragongo is Africa's most active volcano. Before last Saturday, Nyiragongo last erupted in January 2002, killing more than 100 people and covering almost all of eastern Goma with lava, including half of the airport's landing strip. More than 100,000 were left homeless in the aftermath.