Airport on Flores reopens
Airport on Flores reopens
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post/Kupang
Waioty Airport in Maumere, Sikka Regency on Flores island,
resumed operations on Friday after it was closed for four days
due to Mount Egon's eruptions.
Pelita Air Service and Merpati Nusantara Airlines flew in and
out on the same day, said Sikka Regent Alex Longginus.
The regent said that the airport workers had already begun to
clean up the tarmac. Waioty Airport is located some 10 kilometers
west of Mount Egon.
"The volcanic activity still continues, but the thick ash is
being blown in a different direction now, as a result, the
airport is no longer affected, and allows us to open it," said
Alex.
As of Friday, the volcano was still spewing thick smoke 2,500
meters into the sky.
Mount Egon, one of 129 volcanoes nationwide, has been belching
out ash for almost two weeks, forcing some 2,000 residents on the
slopes of the mountain to flee to safer areas.
Meanwhile, Regent Alex expressed concern that some 2,000
refugees, who were still living in refugee camps in the regency,
would suffer from famine, as rice stocks were apparently running
out.
"We have filed a request to the central government in order
for them to give us more rice as the warehouse has only one ton
left. The stock is enough for one or two days, so we are in
urgent need," said Alex.
Besides food concerns, Alex also worried about the spread of
respiratory and skin diseases in the refugee camps that have
begun to afflict the refugees.
He said that some refugees had already been treated at local
community health centers. He appealed to the central government
for more medicine and health officials.
Separately, Sikka Deputy Regent Yos Ansar Rera also complained
that the refugees were in pressing need of more water and masks.
"Most wells are covered in ash, so we need clean water from the
government," he said.
For the time being, the refugees are using handkerchiefs or
wet towels to cover their faces in order to avoid hazardous ash
intake, Yos was quoted by Antara as saying.