Mount Egon active again after Monday's calm, observer says

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Mount Egon in East Nusa Tenggara province (NTT) has shown increased signs of activity over the last two days, spewing out sand, rock, fumes and sulfuric ash, an official said on Wednesday.

An earth tremor lasting about one minute, followed by a huge explosion, occurred on Tuesday night, after the volcano had temporarily showed decreasing signs of activity on Monday, said Yoseph Suryanto, a volcano monitor.

The volcano came to life again last Saturday and Sunday, following an eruption in February of this year.

Despite the current increase in activity, the local administration and volcano monitors have yet to issue an alert. "The explosion this time was bigger and longer, around one minute in duration. The noise, and some of the materials discharged by the volcano, reached Maumere to the southwest of Mount Egon," Yoseph Suryanto told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Mid-level gas pressures within the earth could have been the cause of the heightened activity over the past two days, said Suryanto. Residents have been urged not to panic as the situation was not yet considered dangerous.

After the recent explosion, hundreds of residents from Egon Gahar and Hale villages, who had previously opted to stay put, finally decided to abandon their homes on Wednesday. The total number of refugees amounted to more than 1,000, and they were given accommodation in several school buildings and the community hall in nearby Natakoli village, as well as the Bola district office.

Sikka Health Office director Dr. Ignatius Henyo Kerong told reporters in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, that the level of sulfur emissions over the past two days had exceeded the 9.7 percent level, which could cause brain damage.

"The chance of lung infections is greater, however," he said.

More than five centimeters of sulfuric ash has descended on areas around the volcano. Most trees are covered in ash and local roads, previously full of potholes, have been rendered smooth by the gray carpet.

Mount Egon is one of many Type B active volcanoes in Indonesia. Its crater is 525 meters X 425 meters in diameter, and has a depth of between 47.5 meters and 195 meters. It stands 1,701 meters above sea level.