A smoking trail of lava from a volcanic eruption appears to have halted a few hundred metres from the edge of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s main city, reports say.

Goma, a lakeside city of about two million people, was thrown into panic on Saturday evening as the nearby Mount Nyiragongo erupted, turning the night sky an eerie red.

Thousands fled with their belongings on foot, some towards the nearby border with Rwanda.

As the sun rose on Sunday, much of the hillside to the north of the town was burned black and houses had been destroyed.

The sky was again a cloudy grey.

This aerial view shows debris engulfing buildings in Bushara village, in the Nyiragongo area. A river of boiling lava from the eruption came to a halt outside Goma. Photo: Getty

“Local authorities who have been monitoring the eruption overnight report that the lava flow has lost intensity,” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said on Twitter on Sunday.

Nyiragongo’s most recent eruption, in 2002, killed 250 people and left 120,000 homeless.

It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and is considered among the most dangerous.

Goma residents fled to safety. They are now returning to assess the damage. Photo: Getty

Saturday’s eruption appears to have been caused when fractures opened in the volcano’s side, causing lava flows in various directions.

Experts were worried the volcanic activity observed in the past five years at Nyiragongo mirrors that in the years preceding eruptions in 1977 and 2002.

Reports said the lava flow had stopped short of Goma’s airport and the city limits but surrounding villages had been hit.

This general view shows a structure still standing, surrounded by the lava. Photo: Getty

Lava crossed a main road out of Goma, cutting if off from cities to the north.

Traffic was in gridlock in most places as people tried to leave or return to assess the damage to their homes.

It was not possible to estimate material damage or if anyone had died.

A separate lava flow that headed east over unpopulated terrain towards Rwanda also appeared to have stopped, the reports said.

-AAP