Mt. Lewotobi still spewing hot ash

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Mount Lewotobi in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, continued to spew hot ash up to two kilometers high, and send out lava, rocks, fire balls and sulfur, officials said Tuesday.

And forest fires ignited by the eruptions, continued to spread out of control around the volcano.

Stanis Tefa, secretary of the refugee and natural disaster task force, said the continued volcanic activity was reported by East Flores Regent Felix Fernandes.

Local villagers were advised to remain alert to the possibility of larger eruptions from the volcano in Wulanggitan subdistrict, Tefa said.

He said residents from the villages of Boru, Boru Kedang, Nawa Kote, Nuri, Nobo Konga and Hokeng Jaya, located on the slopes of the volcano, had been evacuated.

Tefa, who is also the social bureau head at the East Nusa Tenggara secretariat, said major eruptions on Sunday and Monday had destroyed hundreds of acres of crops and sparked the forest fires.

Water sources could not be consumed as they were contaminated by sulfur and ash from the volcano, he added.

The seismography unit at the Boru volcano monitoring office in East Flores warned of further eruptions and earthquakes.

Djami Rebo, head of the East Nusa Tenggara resettlement and regional infrastructure office, could not determine the amount of damage caused by the eruption.

"We are still coordinating with the local administration to calculate the losses," he said.

He said his office had sent trucks to supply clean water to the refugees.

The local administration also provided ten tons of rice for the victims, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo said on Tuesday.

He said more assistance, including tents and other logistic supplies, would be sent soon to the refugees.