Volcanic quake damages buildings

LARANTUKA, East Nusa Tenggara: Hundreds of houses, schools and other buildings were damaged in an earthquake which followed the eruption of nearby Mt. Lewotobi on Thursday.

No fatalities resulted from the eruption, the first since 1990. A staff member at a hospital in Hokeng subdistrict said 20 people suffered minor injuries during the ensuing earthquake, adding that some of the injured were wounded after falling off their motorbikes during the tremor.

A chapel belonging to a congregation of Catholic nuns in Hokeng was one of the most severely damaged buildings. Most of its windows, lamps and doors were destroyed in the earthquake. Nunnery head Sister Merselina Ngozo estimated financial losses at hundreds of million of rupiah.

Another nun, Eusthocia Manicanata, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that after touring 17 villages affected by the volcanic eruption, she found some 25,000 residents near Mt. Lewotobi were in need of materials to rebuild their houses.

"Some donors have provided instant milk, noodles and blankets for the residents, but I think roofing materials are more urgent to protect them from ash and gravel from the volcano," she said.

One of the twin peaks of Mt. Lewotobi was spewing gases on Friday. (yac)