Manggarai regent says no evacuation

East Nusa Tenggara’s Manggarai administration has denied that 10,000 local residents had been evacuated following rumors that Mount Anak Ranaka would erupt between Sept.27 and Sept.28.

“There has been no evacuation as yet,” Manggarai Regent Christian Rotok said Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the rumors had done nothing but cause panic among the people.

There was a widespread rumor that 10,000 residents from Sita and Golo Loni villages, both located in East Manggarai, had been evacuated in preparation of an eruption.

Commenting on this, Borong Police precinct chief Adj. Com. Dewa Dominikus said the police would evacuate people if the alert status was increased to level 4.

“To date, the Bandung Volcanic and Geological Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has not made any recommendation for residents to evacuate,” he said.

An increasing number of deep and shallow volcanic earthquakes have been recorded on Mt. Anak Ranaka since June. PVMBG raised the volcano’s alert status to level 3 on Sept.8.