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The Nyiragongo volcano, near Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, no longer seems threatening. Local authorities apologize for 14 direct or indirect victims after the outbreak. Some Goma residents who fled on Saturday night began returning home on Sunday, but caution remains.
Raymond Mbanza lives in southern Goma, RVA district, near the airport. Like all the inhabitants, the eruption in Nyiragongo surprised him. “I was on the highway. I looked up at Nyiragongo and said to myself, “No!” ”.
Panicking his first instinct was to take his wife and two children to safety. “I was looking for motorcyclists. We paid $ 20 for them. I was taken with my family to Mugumba towards Sake, a few kilometers from Goma. We spent the night there. Right now my family is there. But I told myself I had to go back to Goma to see how it goes ”
Warning and anticipation
Raymond Mbanza returned alone to Goma, as a scout. A few hours were enough for him. For him, it is still too early to return with his family. “I went to the stage. I saw the lava, I saw how it happened. There are many earthquakes, really many. There are falling walls. So I do not think it is appropriate to go back to Goma. We’re just watching. ”
As a precaution, Raymond Mbanza supplied medicines, water and food. His biggest fear is that thieves will take advantage of his absence to loot his house.
►Read also: Eruption of Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “We were lucky to have a lava flow that stopped at the gates of Goma”
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