Sikka refugees in bad shape after quake

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Some 5,300 residents of Sikka regency on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara province, have been evacuated to the nearby town of Maumere due to threats of larger volcanic eruptions from Mount Egon, local officials said on Sunday.

About 3,000 others are waiting to be transported from the slopes of the volcano to Maumere, the island's main town -- some two to three hours drive from Sikka.

Those already evacuated were from the villages of Hale, Hebing, Lere and Natakoli in Bola subdistrict.

Some refugees fled on foot and many others in cars brought in by local authorities.

Most of the evacuees are in a critical condition after breathing sulfurous gases and are now facing shortages of food and bedding at accommodation centers.

Officials from the Sikka administration said that the refugees had began to suffer dysentery.

What was most needed was food, medicine and bedding, they added.

At least one person was reported dead amid the influx of refugees. The death toll is likely to increase as the local authorities continue to collect information on the victims.

Residents began to evacuate the area after Mount Egon erupted on Thursday, spewing dark clouds of ash and molten lava over at least one subdistrict.

Yulius Waton, an official at the People's Welfare Office of the Sikka regency administration, said other subdistricts on the slopes of the volcano were now being evacuated.

"We have prioritized three subdistricts on the eastern side of the mountain, because these three subdistricts look like they will be the next to be affected by an eruption.

"However, according to the latest estimates, an eruption will also affect three other subdistricts on the northern side of the mountain, so that we have to evacuate residents of those subdistricts as well," he was quoted as saying by Antara news agency on Saturday.

Evacuations are necessary to avoid fatalities should a major eruption occur.

Those residents who have already been evacuated are now living in 10 makeshift shelters in Maumere city. The government has also established a public kitchen to help feed the evacuees.

Yulius said the Maumere and Sikka administrations would also provide doctors to treat the evacuees.

He said the Sikka administration had established a humanitarian post and a task force to assist the residents.

Yulius estimated that a major eruption would affect 19 subdistricts in the regency, including the six subdistricts on the northern and eastern slopes of Mount Egon.

"If a major eruption takes place, we have to evacuate the residents of those 19 subdistricts," he said.

The 1,703-meter high Mount Egon began to rumble on Thursday, belching ash and smoke from its crater in Bola subdistrict, Sikka regency. One villager, Servasia Hirnawati, is thought to have died from smoke and ash inhalation on Friday.

The last eruption of Mount Egon occurred 80 years ago, creating a crater that measures 47.5 meters in diameter.

Mount Egon is one of 16 volcanoes located in the numerous islands that make up East Nusa Tenggara province that are categorized as either active or with the possibility of eruption.

Other active volcanoes in the province include Mount Ie in Ende, Mount Lewo Tobi in Larantuka and Mount Ine Rie in Sikka regency.

Yulius said that officials from the Volcanology Office in Maumere had arrived in Waigete district, some 20 kilometers from Mount Egon.

They will monitor the development of the rumbling volcano.