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Residents return to volcano-hit city

Residents return to volcano-hit city

THE Democratic Republic of Congo will start a phased return of residents who fled Goma in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption that destroyed thousands of homes and threatened to overrun the city, the government has said. Less than a week after the initial eruption on May 22, which only just stopped short of the city limits, some 400,000 people scrambled to leave when the government warned underground tremors could cause a new eruption, or trigger the release of toxic gases. The tremors have since subsided, and many people have returned to Goma. About 245,000 remain displaced in nearby towns…
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Fears grow for DRC’s lone children

Fears grow for DRC’s lone children

JORDAN MAYENIKINI ABOUT 70 Congolese children who have been unable to find their families four days after a deadly volcanic eruption could be at risk of kidnap and child labour, emergency responders have said. The United Nations said 31 people have died, 40 are missing and 20,000 fled their homes when Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's most active and dangerous volcanoes, erupted on Saturday near Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The U.N. children's agency UNICEF said 561 children were separated from their families as they ran - out of which 487 have been reunited and 74…
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Thousands flee Goma after DRC warns of possible new eruption

Thousands flee Goma after DRC warns of possible new eruption

DJAFFAR Al KATANTY THOUSANDS of people scrambled to flee the Congolese city of Goma yesterday, some picking their way across landscapes scarred with lava after officials said a second volcanic eruption could happen any time. Magma, the molten rock that normally stays beneath the earth's crust, had been detected beneath the city and the adjoining Lake Kivu, Constant Ndima Kongba, the military governor of North Kivu province, said, citing seismic and ground deformation data. "Given these scientific observations, an eruption on land or under the lake cannot be ruled out at present, and it could occur with very little or…
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DRC volcano leaves 20 000 homeless, 40 missing

DRC volcano leaves 20 000 homeless, 40 missing

DJAFFAR AL KATANTY MORE than 20,000 people are homeless and 40 still missing in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in eastern Congo that killed dozens and continues to cause strong earthquakes in the nearby city of Goma, the United Nations has said. Saturday's eruption sent rivers of lava streaming down the hillside from Mount Nyiragongo, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands to flee, but stopped 300 metres short of Goma airport, the main hub for aid operations in the east of Congo. The ash cloud caused by the eruption has closed down airports in Goma and Bukavu, and…
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Earthquake raise fears of second volcano eruption

Earthquake raise fears of second volcano eruption

AN earthquake measuring 5.3 magnitude rocked the borderlands between Rwanda and Congo this morning, the Rwandan Seismic Monitor said, raising worries about a fresh eruption following one on Saturday that killed at least 32 people. On Saturday Democratic Republic of Congo's Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's most active and dangerous volcanoes, erupted sending a river of lava downhill towards Goma, a city of some two million people. The area has experienced repeated tremors since then, and the lava lake in the volcano's crater appears to have refilled, raising fears of new fissures or another eruption, the United Nations Refugee…
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DRC’s Goma hit by tremors after volcanic eruption

DRC’s Goma hit by tremors after volcanic eruption

REPEATED tremors shook the Congolese city of Goma yesterday, unnerving families still reeling from a volcano eruption at the weekend that destroyed nearby villages, displaced thousands and killed at least 32 people. Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's most active and dangerous volcanoes, erupted on Saturday evening, sending a smouldering wall of lava half a mile wide downhill towards the city of 2 million people. The lava flow stopped a few hundred metres short of the city limits, but wrecked 17 villages on the way, cut the principal electricity supply and blocked a major road, disrupting aid deliveries. The death…
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DRC volcano leaves death and smoking wreckage

DRC volcano leaves death and smoking wreckage

DJAFAR AL KATANTY A smoking trail of lava from a volcanic eruption covered hundreds of houses in eastern Congo yesterday, leaving residents to pick gingerly through the wreckage for belongings and loved ones, though the flow halted just short of the city of Goma. Goma was thrown into panic on Saturday evening as Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's most active and dangerous volcanoes, erupted, turning the night sky an eerie red and sending a wall of orange lava downhill towards the lakeside city of about 2 million people. Army spokesman Guillaume Njike said 13 were killed fleeing the disaster,…
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