Airport closed due to volcanic ash

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post/Kupang

The Sikka regency administration has been forced to close Waioty Airport in the town of Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara, due to last week's eruption of Mount Egon, officials said on Tuesday.

The closure was announced on Monday and all domestic flights from Denpasar in Bali and the East Nusa Tenggara capital of Kupang to Maumere have been halted for the time being.

Airport head Petrus Alubel said the closure was necessitated by the increasing activity of the volcano since last week.

"Because all of the equipment and facilities of the airport have been covered by up to one centimeter of volcanic ash, we have decided to halt all flights," he said.

Petrus said the health of passengers could have been affected by the ash and smoke from the volcano.

Mount Egon has been belching out ash and smoke from its crater for more than a week now, forcing some 2,000 villagers to evacuate their houses on the slope of the mountain.

On Tuesday, the volcano spewed smoke up to 2,500 meters high, and ash from the explosion covered areas as far away as 30 kilometers.

The local administration warned residents last week not to approach the volcano.

Many of the 2,000 villagers who were evacuated to safer areas are reportedly suffering from respiratory problems and skin irritations.

Local disaster task force officials from the Sikka administration have opened community kitchens to provide food for the refugees.

"For the time being, they are receiving assistance in the form of food, tents and clean water," task force coordinator Silvanus Tibo said.

Sikka Regent Alex Longginus said last week his administration was having trouble distributing aid to the refugees because of transportation problems.

He asked the central government to help renovate roads leading to the refugee camps.

Officials and seismologists are continuing to monitor the mountain, which is expected to remain active for an unspecified period.

Mount Egon is among 129 volcanoes in the country, the world's largest archipelago nation.

Indonesia is vulnerable to seismic upheavals due to its location on a subduction zone, where the Australian continental plate is being pushed underneath Southeast Asia, creating an arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches.