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Sinabung evacuees ask for assistance in Langkat
Evacuees fleeing the active volcano Mount Sinabung to neighboring Langkat regency in North Sumatra called on the Karo regency administration to supply them with much needed aid
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vacuees fleeing the active volcano Mount Sinabung to neighboring Langkat regency in North Sumatra called on the Karo regency administration to supply them with much needed aid.
Some 220 displaced people, who are on the verge of starvation as supplies provided by the administration have almost run out, are sheltering in the regency.
Berliana Ginting, 42, one of the evacuees from Kuta Rakyat village said they had been in Telaga village, Sei Bingei district, Langkat, for two days but not one Karo official had visited them.
'Since Monday we have received 15 sacks of rice and 25 cartoons of instant noodles provided by the Langkat regency administration as well as locals,' she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
'We are facing starvation as the supplies will only last until tomorrow [Wednesday].'
She added there were hundreds of other evacuees from a number of villages in Karo's Naman Teran district who were also headed for Langkat.
'Telaga village is much closer than Kabanjahe or other shelters in Karo,' said Berliana, adding it took about 30 minutes by truck from Kuta Rakyat to Telaga.
Comparatively, the trip to Kabanjahe, the seat of Karo regency administration, would take more than one hour.
Berliana admitted they had not informed the Karo authorities that they were in Langkat.
'Three years ago, when Mt. Sinabung had its last major eruption, we also came to Langkat,' she said.
Meanwhile, chairman of North Sumatra Legislative Council's Commission E overseeing welfare issues, Brilliant Mokhtar, said Karo regency administration would distribute aid to its residents taking shelter in Langkat soon.
He said he understood why some of the villagers from Karo had headed for Langkat, as it was much closer and they would not have to 'navigate the hills to Kabanjahe'.
On the other hand, Karo regency administration spokesman Jhonson Tarigan said no Karo residents had informed the administration that they were taking shelter in Langkat.
'They evacuated to Langkat without notifying the authorities, so they are not included on the official tally of evacuees,' he said.
Jhonson revealed that the regency administration registered more than 17,000 evacuees at 31 evacuation centers in the four districts of Kabanjahe, Berastagi, Tiga Binanga and Munteh.
Jhonson said the regency administration would send aid to Langkat if it was notified of the need for it.
He said Karo regency administration currently had 100 tons of rice, but other supplies were thin on the ground.
'The evacuees are in need of food, cooking oil, bottled water, blankets and bathing equipment,' he said. 'Donors should focus on those items.'
Most of the villagers that reside on the slopes of Mt. Sinabung are farmers that work the arable land planting fruit and vegetables.
The Karo Agriculture Agency estimates that since September the farmers have suffered losses of some Rp 40 billion (US$3.39 million).
