Following on from Sunday's earthquake in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, ActionAid has joined other aid agencies in the region to come up with an initial emergency response.

The aid agencies met in Bukavu to coordinate relief operations including the provision of food, shelter and healthcare.

ActionAid will be distributing non-food items including pots, spoons, plates, cups, plastic basins, knives and paraffin lamps, and providing psychosocial care

According to a BBC report, the peacekeeping forces based in the provincial capital, Bukavu said about 40 people were killed in the wake of the earthquake, and many more left traumatised.

Its effects were widespread and felt in Goma in North Kivu province, about 100 kilometres from Bukavu, on the southern tip of Lake Kivu.

Bukavu experienced a serious impact with houses, hotels and school buildings collapsing and roof tops destroyed. The industrial area in Bukavu where most businesses keep their wares has been destroyed and the roof of a public market collapsed. services.

Across the border in Rwanda, officials were reported as saying that about 34 people had died in the country's towns close to Bukavu, including 10 killed when a church collapsed.

The area is geologically active and includes Mount Nyiragongo, one of the most active volcanoes in Africa.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in Goma, and about 50 killed, when the mountain erupted in January 2002, spewing lava into the streets of the eastern DRC town.

The area has also been destabilised by infighting between rebels and government forces, which has recently caused over 800,000 to flee their homes into displacement camps.