GOMA situation report
On May 22, 2021, the volcano on which the City of GOMA is located woke up, forcing a large part of the city to evacuate urgently, either to Rwanda in the east, or to the city of SAKE in the west. To the north, the Volcano, to the south the Lake with either oil or gas slicks. In the sky, the ashes and under the city of the sheets of lava.
Saturday night the population knew what to do. Flee east or west depending on your position in relation to the lava flows. RWANDA quickly opened up its borders and people rushed in, running without panic, but very quickly.
On the other hand, many children were lost in this first wave of evacuation. Some have reunited with their parents and others have not.
The roads are filled with pedestrians. Some were reopened on the lava which cooled to allow the passage of trucks, but very quickly this cohabitation became dangerous.
Trucks have been banned on sensitive roads. The population continued to walk in the rain and only had what they could carry with them. Some vehicles take children, pregnant women and the elderly.
Two days after the first alert everyone was back home because there is very little help on the road and in particular food aid. We note the distribution of water by UNHCR and the ICRC in a few places, as well as a distribution of soup. But, almost all of the displaced are on their own. They know what to do.
Two days later, the decision is taken by the governor to again evacuate parts of the city for the next 15 days. The alert is made up of 3 disaster scenarios. We must evacuate. But, two days without food for our walkers is too much and those who have not found refuge with friends, today, they are returning home once again with the risk of a new rash rather than dying. of hunger on the roads.