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Mt. Egon on Flores erupts, thousands flee homes
Mount Egon in Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara, erupted Tuesday, forcing about 1,000 residents from nearby villages to flee their homes
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Mount Egon in Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara, erupted Tuesday, forcing about 1,000 residents from nearby villages to flee their homes.
Despite the eruption, hundreds of thousands of voters in Sikka went to polling stations Wednesday to elect a new regent and deputy regent.
About 20,000 people in Waigete and Mupitara subdistricts are facing water shortages because their wells have been contaminated by dust and other particles spewing from the crater.
The eruption, which lasted for more than 30 minutes, forced those living near the foot of the volcano to flee their homes. There have been no reports of casualties.
Head of social affairs at the Sikka administration, Sius Kasu, said by telephone in Maumere on Wednesday his office had taken emergency steps to assist residents, including dispatching some 20,000 masks, bottled water and medicine.
"The emergency team has arrived at the location bringing with it the relief aid," he said.
He said his office had yet to determine the number of evacuees, but surmised that residents living in the two districts nearest the volcano had been directly impacted by the eruption.
Waigete subdistrict chief Welhelmus Cyrillus said around 1,000 residents in Egon, Baukrenget, Natakoli and Watermage villages had fled to safer areas since Tuesday night.
Mount Egon erupted without warning the day before the regency election.
During the eruption, the 1,700-meter-high volcano spewed ash hundreds of meters into the air and sent out dust and debris to a radius of 20 kilometers from the crater.
An official from the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center in Bandung, West Java, Endang Elias, said the center recorded six deep volcanic quakes and one shallow quake since Tuesday night.
Ash and rocks continued to spew out of the crater as of noon Wednesday.
A local reporter who was in Egon village, Kristo Embu, said by phone most residents had chosen not to evacuate.
The regency election was held without disturbance Wednesday.
"Eligible voters turned up to the polling stations wearing mask," said Kristo.
A number of residents said they were in urgent need of water.
"All the wells have been contaminated by ash. We desperately need potable water for our daily needs," said a resident in Waigete, Marthen Moru.
Egon erupted in 2004 and 2006 after a 75-year lull. It experienced a massive eruption in 1925, but there is no information on casualties.
