DR Congo’s Goma slowly returns to normal after volcanic eruption

Over a week after the eruption of volcano Nyiragongo in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC), the city of Goma once engulfed with fears of being flooded with hot lava and ashes, is slowly returning to normal life, as shops reopen and people return home to pick up the pieces.

“Today, the city of Goma has just woken up. Not everything has returned to normal, but still we are seeing a resumption of activities in the city,” Jean Kasereka, a local Taxi driver, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

In market Alanine, one of the busiest markets in Goma, the shouts of vendors and bargaining seemed just like the good old days, not least before the nearby Nyiragongo volcano bursted into activity on May 22, killing at least 32 people. The city, at the foot of the volcano, escaped a potentially enormous disaster as the lava flows stopped on the outskirts on May 23.

With constant seismic tremors in some parts of the city, fears of a fresh eruption forced local authorities to evacuate its people to designated areas as a precaution since Thursday.

With nearly 400,000 people evacuated, Goma, home to over 1 million inhabitants, suddenly became a “ghost town”. “Shops were closed and people were busy rushing out of the city,” a resident told Xinhua on its way to take refuge in nearby Rwanda.

But with a gradual decrease in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes related to the volcanic activity, thousands of evacuated residents start returning home to pick up the pieces, the Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG) reported on Monday.

“The fleeing residents began to gradually return to the city. Now a considerable number of buyers come to get what they need. Here, things are going really well,” said Kasereka Wangebe, a vendor at market Alanine.