As of 24 May 2021, seismic activity and tremors continue to occur in the vicinity of Mount Nyiragongo — located near the border with Rwanda and the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province — which erupted on 22 May and began affecting the northern outskirts of Goma on 23 May. Civil aviation authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have closed Goma Airport (FZNA/GOM) until further notice due to the eruption and resulting lava flows that reached the outer perimeter of the facility, but ferries between Goma and Bukavu are operating normally. However, air traffic was not routed away from the affected airspace. Furthermore, the Rwanda-DRC border crossing in Goma remains open.
The 22 May eruption caused new fissures to appear and redirected the lava flows toward Goma rather than toward Rwanda as earlier indicated by volcanologists from the Goma Observatory. As of latest reports, the lava flows were moving through the city of Buhene, located north of Goma. Although the full extent of the damage caused by the eruption and subsequent lava flows is currently unclear, early reports indicate that at least 500 residences and other buildings have been destroyed or heavily damaged. The Congolese government reportedly activated emergency plans to evacuate residents from Goma and the surrounding area in the projected path of the lava flows. At least 5,000 refugees reportedly entered Rwanda and an additional 25,000 people fled to the northwest in Sake after the eruption. At least 15 people were killed — including five who died in a traffic accident during the evacuation — and approximately 170 others remain missing.