First plane into Goma welcomed

Earth tremors are hindering relief operations

A light aircraft has landed at Goma airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking a resumption of flights to the lava-ravaged town, witnesses said.

Much of the airport is still covered with debris from the eruption of the Mount Nyirangongo volcano last week.

Aid is being handed out

Engineers are inspecting the main runway for possible structural weaknesses before giving the go-ahead to flights by larger aircraft, which could speed up the supply of aid.

Efforts are continuing to get food and water to Goma's nearly half a million people.

With much of the infrastructure destroyed and no immediate prospect of jobs or income for most people, the United Nations says it will have to meet the needs of Goma's entire population for the next few weeks.

International charities are appealing for donations.

Goma's business district was devastated

Almost all of the hundreds of thousands of people who fled the lava flows last week have returned to the town.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is working with a local water company to repair some of the city's water supply system.

Only about 30% of the pipes are working at present but the Red Cross hopes that 80% can be restored within two weeks.

Click here to see the location of the volcano

	Lava pours from three fissures down the flanks of the volcano and engulfs 14 villages Lava then reaches Goma, destroying much of the town Detailed map of the eruption and aftermath

Emergency food and water are being distributed, but the lava has divided Goma in two.

Many people are walking the short distance across the Rwandan border to the nearby town of Gisenyi to buy essential supplies.

But agricultural production in this fertile region on the shores of Lake Kivu is not thought to have been affected by the eruption.

Warnings of more eruptions

A second volcano is reported to have erupted - also in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The volcano on Mount Nyamuragira sent molten lava streams into Virunga national park, but there are no reports of casualties.

Vulcanologists have warned that eruptions could spread along the Rift Valley straddling Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, where there are dormant volcanoes.

Since the Nyiragongo eruption, which killed more than 50 people and destroyed thousands of homes, powerful earth tremors have hindered relief work.

The tremors have destroyed more than 1,500 houses and several schools just across the border in Rwanda.

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