Diary of a Disaster
On May 23 my city of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo went through two separate volcano eruptions evacuations in a matter of days. First, we ran from the initial eruption of the volcano located about 10 miles outside of the city. Most people returned to Goma the next day. However, for the people in the path of the lava, there was nothing to return home to – entire villages were gone – replaced by a river of cooling lava rock.
Little did we know when we returned, that a few days later, we would be running again – this time from relentless earthquakes that would begin shaking the city. We experienced more than 100 earthquakes per day, ranging from 4.0 – 5.7 on the Richter Scale.
On May 27, the government issued a mandatory evacuation for 10 of the 18 Quarters (neighborhoods) of Goma. The lava inside the volcano had disappeared, but through infrared scans, it was discovered that the lava was located under the city of Goma and under Goma’s Lake Kivu. The potential was high for the frequent and strong earthquakes to cause a secondary eruption and the fear that the eruption could possibly occur under Lake Kivu. This could trigger a limnic eruption – an overturning of the toxic gases at the bottom of the lake, creating a gas cloud that would suffocate anyone along the lake (additionally, this could also cause a tsunami).
This news of another eruption, deadly toxic gas cloud, and potential tsunami triggered a mass exodus of nearly 2 million people who fled in the only two directions that were available – over the border into Rwanda or East to a small town called Sake. Most people do not have the documents or the money to cross into Rwanda, so Sake was quickly overrun with displaced peoples.
When I arrived in Sake, it was still early. By evening, a million other people from Goma had arrived. This overwhelmed the resources of a town that normally has 25,0000 people. The resources were limited and quickly escalating in price. I returned to Goma the next morning after staying the night in a warehouse with about 500 other people from my church and ministry community. I slept on the floor in my sleeping bag, surrounded by the boys from the Rehabilitation House – former street kids who took turns sleeping throughout the night to keep an eye out for me and the other boys. I had a backpack, a carry-on suitcase ad a computer bag - these were all the belongings I had been able to carry.
When I returned to Goma, many of the people I had evacuated with had made the decision to change direction and leave for Kigali, Rwanda. I decided I would stay in Goma. My house was not in one of the mandatory evacuation zones and there were many people in Goma that needed assistance. Also, I was just weary of running. I had little to no sleep for 5 days and had eaten very little. I just wanted to help my friends, stay in my house and be with my pets and guards. This decision also meant that if there was another eruption, I would have no good way to evacuate without a vehicle. It was a scary decision and many people tried to intervene and get me to change my mind, but I had peace about my decision. Other people from my church were staying behind as well to begin organizing the relief effort that we could see would be necessary.
This also meant that I would be staying in Goma through the earthquakes - and they were terrifying. Every few minutes, day and night, the house would rock and sway. My only outlet that works on solar power is upstairs, near a window. In order to get posts out, answer emails, and communicate with the many friends and family checking on me, it was necessary to be upstairs during this time. I would sit in my computer chair, as it rolled around, and would just close my eyes and say "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" over and over again. This went on for many days, too many to count. I had only experienced one earthquake in my life prior to this - and never with the epicenter so close to me.
The day after evacuating to Sake, I assisted others in getting their documents to travel to Rwanda. My Congolese sister had recently given birth to Christopher James and he had no documents. We spent a morning at the immigration office and then I saw that she and her baby crossed safely into Rwanda to join her family in Kigali. I got her husband Emmanuel to the port to take a boat to South Kivu. I made sure that guests from the Netherlands also safely made it to the port to travel to South Kivu. I went home and tried (in vain) to keep the volcanic ash off of everything.
I spent the next few days with my church, planning and implementing relief in two different areas – directly at the lava site and also in Sake. At the lava site, thousands of homes were destroyed, but also all the infrastructure – roads, water lines, electric lines, and cell towers.
We organized trucks to deliver 10,000 liters of water per day to fill water tanks, as well as the distribution of soap and water tablets for safe drinking water.
The electric and water lines have been restored, the main road has been carved out of the lava river and phones are working again. People are beginning to try to mark their land and clear rocks to rebuild.
The work at the lava site continues, with food relief, water relief, and assistance for other items needed to return life to normal. We continue to distribute clothes, school uniforms, and household goods through the church in this area.
In Sake, there was a severe water and food shortage, and a cholera outbreak so we began daily treks to Sake to prepare food and distribute water, soap, energy bars, and water tablets to the displaced people. During the 11 days of the mandatory evacuation, we were able to feed over 1,000 people per day.
We work with two churches located in different parts of the city. Birere is in the heart of the city and was part of the “red zone” for evacuation. Mugunga is on the outskirts of Goma, heading towards Sake. Many of the members of Birere church went to Mugunga and stayed with church members in that area.
Together we distributed food for the families in Mugunga and goods for Birere. We also transitioned our Hope School feeding program into a food distribution for the students, since the government closed all schools during this time.
On June 7 the government issued the order that people could return to Goma. Over that time, the lava under the city and lake had begun to cool and harden and the earthquakes had reduced to just a couple per day. Over the next couple of days, hundreds of thousands of people made the long trek home – many of them filing past my house. I would watch from my balcony as so many people poured back into Goma. Over the past few weeks, Goma has begun to go back to normal, people are recovering from the financial hardship evacuation placed upon them and the focus has now changed from relief to trauma care.
So, what happens when a volcano, hundreds of earthquakes, a potential deadly toxic gas cloud, and a possible tsunami turn your life upside down? Ministry happens! God provides opportunities to meet urgent needs, build relationships and share the Good News of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. None of us wish for disaster and destruction, but we can trust that our loving God will turn devastation and destruction into recovery and redemption.
Michelle serves with GlobalGrace in Democratic Republic of Congo