Volcanic quake damages buildings

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)