JOHANNESBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2021) South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party calls on the international community to urgently assist people of the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the deadly volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.
On Saturday, the volcano, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Goma and Lake Kivu on the DR Congo's border with Rwanda, had started to erupt. About 8,000 Goma residents reportedly fled the eruption to Rwanda. Over 30 people are reported dead in the natural disaster.
"The ANC calls for urgent support from the international community and civil society. Similarly, in the context of the need to strengthen and consolidate Africa's self-reliance and rapid response capacity to natural disasters, we call for the rapid utilisation of the African Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (ARSDR) and implementation through the Programme of Action and Action and the AU Humanitarian Policy Framework," the ANC said in a statement.
The last time a major Nyiragongo eruption occurred was in 2002, when around 250 people were killed and 120,000 were left without homes as lava flows destroyed about 20% of Goma.
