US sends relief supplies to victims of African volcano
The US is sending thousands of blankets and other relief supplies to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
The aid will help the victims of a devastating volcano that left a half-million people without homes.
Britain has already promised €3.1m worth of help for the region.
Officials with the US Agency for International Development's office of Foreign Disaster Assistance said the supplies from USAID stockpiles will be shipped out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport and consigned to relief agencies in Goma, Congo, and Gisenyi, Rwanda.
USAID is also providing $25,000 for relief agencies operating in the stricken area and will consider providing additional supplies and money.
Mount Nyiragongo, 12 miles north of Goma, began erupting Thursday, sending a 130-foot-wide path of molten rock through it's central business district and into Lake Kivu.
