wfn.org | Thousands Flee Eastern Congo After Volcano Erupts

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

LWF Says People Urgently Need Shelter, Water

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)/GENEVA, 20 January 2002
(LWI) -- Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the eastern
Congolese city of Goma after the Nyiragongo volcano erupted
January 17 killing at least 45 people and sending rivers of lava
onto nearby villages, spreading into the streets of Goma and into
Lake Kivu near the Rwandan border.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service
(DWS) in Rwanda reports that thousands are making their way across
the border into Gisenyi, Rwanda, while others are believed to have
fled into the nearby forest in an attempt to reach Kisangani.
There is concern, however, that once people flee into the dense
forest, they cannot be reached.

According to LWF/DWS, those affected by the catastrophe urgently
need plastic sheeting for shelter and essential non-food items
such as blankets and kitchen utensils. Water is also a critical
item as its supplies have been cut.

Humanitarian aid officials working in Goma, a city of about
500,000 people and base for international efforts to assist those
fleeing war along the Rwanda * DRC border said relief supplies'
facilities were among the buildings destroyed by the lava.

The LWF/DWS response to the DRC natural disaster is part of
coordinated assistance under Action by Churches Together (ACT), a
global network of churches and their related agencies meeting
human need through emergency response. Other ACT members that are
involved include ChurchWorld Service (USA-based), Norwegian Church
Aid (NCA) and British aid organization, Christian Aid. ACT is
based with the LWF and World Council of Churches.

The United Nations said around 100,000 people had taken refuge in
other Congolese villages a day after the eruption occurred, and an
estimated 300,000 had fled into Rwanda. UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan noted the disaster is taking place in an area already
affected by years of conflict.

The 11,500 feet Nyiragongo, some 10 kilometers north of Goma, is
one of Africa's most active volcanos. In 1977, around 70 people
died when part of the volcano collapsed, flooding the town with
lava.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5
million of the 64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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