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February 2014 – INDONESIA - The
government has raised the status on another 19 volcanoes in the country
to alert level — the second-highest category — in the wake of the Mount
Sinabung eruption in North Sumatra that killed 16 people on Saturday.
Besides the 19 new additions, three volcanos have been on high alert
status since last year. They include Lokon and Karangetang in North
Sulawesi and Rokatenda in East Nusa Tenggara. The National Disaster
Mitigation Agency (BNPB) issued the raised status on Monday for the 19
volcanoes, which are scattered across the archipelago, but has yet to
call for the evacuation of populations living nearby. The 19 volcanoes
are Kelud, Ijen, Bromo, Semeru and Raung in East Java; Lewotobi
Perempuan in East Nusa Tenggara; Ibu, Gamkonora, Dukono and Gamalama in
North Maluku; Soputan in North Sulawesi; Sangeang Api in West Nusa
Tenggara; Papandayan in West Java; Dieng in Central Java; Seulewah Agam
in Aceh; Talang and Marapi in West Sumatra; Anak Krakatau in Banten; and
Kerinci in Jambi. Indonesia is among the world’s most seismically
active countries, situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of
volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. The 19 volcanoes
are among about 127 active volcanoes in Indonesia. Mt. Sinabung has
been sporadically erupting since September. Though the alert level for
the 19 volcanoes had been raised, Sutopo called on nearby residents not
to panic. “Volcanoes erupt in stages, they won’t suddenly erupt. Their
activity can be categorized from normal to waspada [alert] to siaga
[high alert] to awas [danger, the highest level],” he said on Monday.
He said that the BNPB was now keeping
an eye on Mount Kelud, whose status was raised to alert following
intensified volcanic activity. The BNPB decision to raise the status of
Mt. Kelud had triggered panic among local residents. Local officials in
Kediri have issued a warning to people living close to Mt. Kelud to stay
outside a 2-kilometer radius set by the The Center for Volcanology and
Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG). On Saturday, at least 16 people
were killed and three others severely injured due to pyroclastic clouds
emitted by Mt. Sinabung. Previously, the volcano’s ongoing eruptions had
claimed the lives of 31 evacuees from various illnesses such as
depression, asthma and hypertension. Rescuers had to halt operations due
to fears of further eruptions. Currently, the evacuation zone is
between 5 and 7 km on the southeast slope of the volcano. Sixteen
villages had to be evacuated following the eruptions. Meanwhile,
responding to the BNPB report, Coordinating Minister for People’s
Welfare Agung Laksono called on people living close to the volcanoes to
remain calm. “[The raising of the alert status] is to raise awareness
among government officials and members of the public so that they can
anticipate the worst from the early stage,” Agung said as quoted by
Antara news agency. Agung said that the population in a disaster zone
should heed government instructions to evacuate in the event of a
volcanic eruption. “We ask for cooperation from residents. If the local
government decides to evacuate their neighborhood they have to follow
the procedures,”
Agung said. The country has been
battered by a string of natural disasters in recent months. Authorities
in a number of disaster-prone regions have been warned about the
potential for worsening disasters, including landslides and floods, due
to heavy rains nationwide. In West Java, the PVMBG advised that people
living in landslide-prone areas in Ciramba and Mekarmulya subdistricts,
Cikalong district, Cianjur, should be relocated. In Jombang, East Java,
14 people were buried by a landslide on Monday. Seven bodies have been
recovered, while the other seven remain missing. In Semarang, a
landslide displaced 32 families from the Tangkil Baru residential
complex in Sukorejo subdistrict, Gunungpati district, whose houses were
destroyed. Last week, sections of the Java’s northern coastal highway
were inundated by floodwaters causing a major traffic disruption. In
East Java, the flooding disrupted traffic from Situbondo to Surabaya. –Jakarta Post
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