Thousands evacuated, though Talang calming down
The Jakarta Post, Padang
More than 25,000 residents living on the slopes of Mount Talang in Solok regency, West Sumatra are still staying in makeshift shelters although the mountain, which spewed hot ash on Tuesday, showed less activity on Wednesday.
Many residents spent the night in tents in open fields while others took refuge in schools and government buildings in nearby towns.
"The whole family is stressed. It's better to be here now than to live in fear," Yusmalidar, 40, told Reuters. He had just been evacuated in a government truck with his wife and three children.
Amrizal Rangkayo, a 42-year-old resident now living in a tent in Air Batumbo, a village around eight kilometers from Talang, told AP he first heard the eruption at about 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday. "That frightened us and therefore we fled our villages," he said.
Volcanologist Dalipa, who heads the Batu Bajanjang observation post under the directorate of volcanology, mitigation and geological disasters, told The Jakarta Post there were no significant eruptions recorded from Mount Talang from 6 p.m. on Tuesday to 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
"From Tuesday night to 6 a.m. today (Wednesday), there were only six small eruptions," he said.
He said this was unlike Monday to noon on Tuesday, when there were five big eruptions, spewing hot ash which reached a residential area 10 kilometers away, and hundreds of small eruptions.
However, he could not guarantee the 2,574-meter high mountain would not become more active.
"We need two to three more days to evaluate and to determine whether Mount Talang's activity will decrease or not, and whether it has the potential for a bigger eruption," Dalipa said.
Solok Regent Gamawan Fauzi said that 25,150 residents from five villages in Lembang Jaya and Gunung Talang districts, which are located within a five km radius from the danger zone, have been evacuated to seven districts.
The regental administration provided the refugees with tents as well as food and clean water, he added.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited residents living in makeshift shelters in Solok on Wednesday, Antara reported, saying the government would pay attention to their plight.
"Although the disaster here is on a smaller scale compared what happened in Aceh and Nias, the government cares," said the President, who delivered a Rp 500 million (US$55,555) donation for the victims.
Experts said earlier the eruption was likely triggered by the 6.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Padang on Sunday, the epicenter of which was near Siberut island, some 115 km west of the city. Mount Talang, which is on an alert status, lies 40 kilometers east of Padang.
Parts of Sumatra are still recovering from the quake-triggered tsunami and another massive quake which devastated its western coastal area, with Nias island worst hit.