T

he Bima regency administration continued to evacuate farmers from the area around Mount Sangeang in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province after smoke began pouring from the volcano on Thursday.

The affected villagers living around the volcano in Wera district, Bima, were evacuated to safer areas in Sangeang Darat village, local officials said Friday.

"An observation post reported that *the volcano* had discharged white smoke as high as 25 meters," Bima energy and mineral resources agency head Syahbuddin told The Jakarta Post.

"We have informed local farmers living or working in the vicinity of the volcano to go to Sangeang Darat," he said.

Syahbuddin was unable to confirm how many residents had evacuated the area, but said no more farmers were reportedly working around Mount Sangeang as of Friday.

Mount Sangeang, standing 1,842 meters above sea level, is situated on the small island of Sangeang, one hour away by boat from Sangeang Darat village.

People living in neighboring islands often travel to Sangeang island for seasonal farming around the foothills of the volcano.

The observation post has been recording intensified volcanic activity and tremors since last week, said Syahbuddin.

The post's seismograph recorded tremors almost every hour, he said.

"We previously declared an alert status on June 4. But residents kept farming because there were only small tremors, which are common.

"But as smoke started to emerge, we urged them to leave the affected areas," Syahbuddin added.

The mountain was "luckily" located on an uninhabited island in open sea, he said.