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BNPB assures proper handling of E. Nusa Tenggara evacuees
Thousands sought to leave the area soon after the mountain spewed volcanic ash and smoke 4,000 meters into the air Sunday morning.
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ational Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Doni Monardo has expressed his commitment to making sure the evacuation of people affected by the Mount Ili Lewotolok eruption goes according to plan.
More than 5,500 people have been evacuated to nearby makeshift shelters in Lewoleba city in Lembata regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), after Mount Ili Lewotolok experienced a series of eruptions over the weekend.
Thousands sought to leave the area soon after the mountain spewed volcanic ash and smoke 4,000 meters into the air on Sunday morning, according to the Lembata Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
“I want to assess the disaster mitigation efforts myself, to make sure they are being carried out in accordance with prevailing mechanisms and regulations,” Doni said in Lembata regency on Wednesday.
Doni visit Lembata on Thursday along with NTT Police chief Insp. Gen. Lotharia Latif, Brig. Gen. Samuel Petrus Hehakaya, the commander of the 161/Wirasakti Regional Military Command, and NTT Intelligence Agency head Brig. Gen. Adrianus SA Nugroho.
Among the things Doni asked the regional government and stakeholders involved in mitigation efforts to do was to separate evacuees based on their vulnerability to COVID-19.
He said the elderly must be protected from exposure to COVID-19 by separating them from younger evacuees who could more easily recover from the disease.
“What I do is based on the state’s order, to make sure that the government is always present. The people’s safety is the highest [priority],” he said.
The government has yet to designate the eruption as a national disaster, which means that mitigation and evacuation efforts are still helmed by regional officials.
“However, the regent can still appoint a head of operations. This post should be able to oversee all services for locals,” he said.
Lembata secretary Paskalis Tapobali said seismometers had recorded tremors as part of Mt. IIi Lewotolok’s volcanic activity since Thursday last week.
The mountain first erupted on Friday afternoon, however, and seismic activity slightly dipped before surging again six-fold on Sunday morning.
Following this, the emergency status was increased to a level three alert from the country’s four-tier system.
Located in the northern interior of Lembata Island, Mt. Ili Lewotolok is a stratovolcano that has been erupting since 1660, with records of volcanic activity throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
The volcano was the cause of tectonic earthquakes in January 2012. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation raised the volcano’s status to level 2 in October 2017.
The volcano is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arch of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean, making the region prone to tectonic and volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis.
Last year, the country recorded 9,384 natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, land liquefaction and landslides, which left 684 people dead. This year, as of Sept. 3, the BNPB has recorded 1,944 disasters that killed 272 people. (ami)
