Message #21309

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ailments-spread-among-refugees-of-sirung-eruption/519153

Ailments Spread Among Refugees of Sirung Eruption
Jakarta Globe | May 21, 2012

Kupang. Various ailments, including coughs and other respiratory conditions, have affected hundreds of people seeking safety in temporary shelters after the eruption of Mount Sirung on Pantar island in the Eastern Nusa Tenggara District of Alor, an official said on Monday.

Mount Sirung, a 862-meter-high volcano, erupted on May 13, forcing some 250 people from the Mauta village on its slope to seek safety elsewhere in the district.

The volcano was put on the third level of alert after it began to show increased activity on May 8.

“Residents are beginning to be affected by ailments such as coughs, sneezing, and other respiratory conditions,” Viktor Tanghana, the head of the Alor district Disaster Mitigation Office said.

Viktor said children were the most vulnerable among the displaced.

He said the district had already deployed a medical team to the temporary shelters to provide some help, and the authorities had also sent food aid such as rice, corn and instant noodles and cans of sardines.

The evacuation of Mauta, approximately 300 meters from the crater, was conducted by the local authorities at the request of the Vulcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center in Bandung (PVMBG), Viktor said.

He said although the people of the village had been evacuated to the temporary shelters, they continued to return to their fields to work.

Viktor also berated the shortage of face masks at the district level, and called on the disaster mitigation office in Kupang, the provincial capital to send at least 500 such masks to the district for distribution.