MT ROKATENDA ERUPTION LIKELY TO TRIGGER RESPIRATORY DISEASE, FOOD SCARCITY by Fardah

    Jakarta, Feb 13, 2013 (Antara) - Mount Rokatenda finally erupted on February 2, 2013 at 11:36 p.m. local time by spewing ash into the sky at a height of up to 4,000 meters above sea level, following its increased volcanic activities since October 2012.

        Located on Palue Island, north of Flores Island, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, the 875-meter-high volcano also produced lava and loud rumbling sound that could be heard from a monitoring post situated around 17 km of the mountain, according to Towa Tiba Petrus, an officer at the monitoring post of Mount Iya and Mount Rokatenda recently.

        Towa said Mt Rokatenda, which is also called Mount Paluweh, was detected for the first time of having increased its volcanic activities on October 8, 2012.

         When it erupted in early February, the volcano was spewing volcanic ash that fell as mud rains into four districts on Flores Island, namely Maumere, Ende, Nagekeo and Ngada. The thickness of the volcanic ash in Ropa reached one millimeter.

        It also produced flame as well as volcanic materials which triggered bush fires near the crater.
  Maria Fasih, a resident of Nangapenda, Magepanda sub-district, Ende
District, said she could not see the sky as it was covered by volcanic ash following the eruption.

         The emergency status of Mt Rokatenda eruption has been raised to alert status (level III), as at least 2,675 residents of Palue Island, Sikka and Ende Districts have been forced to take refuge to safer areas.

         Around 1,552 refugees are inhabitants of Sikka and the rest from
Ende, Deputy District Head of Sikka Damianus Wera said on February 5, 2013.

          They are being accommodated in government offices and public facilities in Maumere, the capital of Sikka, and Maurole, Ende District.

         Inhabitants of five villages on Palue Island, however, refused to
leave their villages despite the volcanic eruption.

         Food and clean water have been distributed to the refugees as well as villagers who have decided to remain in their villages near the mountain.

         The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head, Tini Tadeus, said the agency has adequate stock of food for the refugees in Sikka dan Ende.

         The agency has allocated funds amounting Rp360 million which is enough to help the refugees for one week.

         The NTT BPBD has already sent food to refugees in Maurole sub district, Ende District, following a report that they had faced food shortage, Tini stated.

         "The provincial administration has not supplied relief aid to help the victims, because now we still have enough food stock for one week," Tini Tadeus, said in Kupang, on February 2, 2013.

          A medical team has also been made ready to help people affected by volcanic ash which could cause respiratory problem, Tini said.

          Local authorities have provided face masks as affected villagers are encouraged to put on masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash.

           Thousands of villagers living on the slope of Mt Rokatenda have been reported of suffering from respiratory disease as they had inhaled volcanic ash.    
      "All villages on the island have been covered by volcanic ash. When we are in the villages, we inhale polluted air if we don't wear face masks," Deputy Sikka District Head Damianus Wera said after visiting Palue Island.

          "I just came back from the island. On Tuesday (Feb 5), a medical team carrying medicines have been deployed to Palue Island. They will treat the affected people with the assistance of local community health center's medical personnel," he said.

          Besides affecting the local villagers' health, Mt Rokatenda's volcanic ash has also damaged agricultural crops in three districts of Flores Island.

         "Our corn and sweet potato plants on 200 hectares of agricultural
area have been damaged by volcanic ash coming from Mt Rokatenda. We are sure our harvest will fail this year," Matheus, a farmer of Nangaroro Sub District, Nagekeo District, said on the phone recently.

         Other crops damaged by the ash include cashew nut plants and
vegetables.

         Daminaus Wera said thousands of people on Palue Island are facing food scarcity as their crops were destroyed due to the eruption of the volcano.

        "At present, inhabitants of Palue Island is being threatened by
famine because all crops such as corn, banana and tubers have been damaged by volcanic ash from Mt Rokatenda," Daminaus said.

         The local administration has to immediately provide relief aid
consisting of food and clean water for around 12,000 inhabitants of Palue Island.

        Mount Rokatenda had erupted for several times in the modern history. The most powerful eruption had happened from August 4 to September 25, 1928 which had triggered a tsunami after volcanic earthquakes struck the region inhabited by 266 people.

         On March 23, 1985, Mt Rokatenda had erupted again, spewing ash into the sky and caused muddy rain in areas as far as 2 kilometers from the mountain.

        After 20 years of being inactive (from 1985 to 2005), Mount Rokatendam had again erupted on January 16, 2005, said Towa.

         Indonesia has the world's largest number of historically active volcanoes, and at least 76 of them have erupted.  
    The country contains some of the world's most famous volcanoes, such as Krakatau (Krakatoa), Tambora, and Merapi.      
    On Java Island alone, 120 million people live in the shadow of more than 30 volcanoes, a proximity that has proved fatal to more than 140,000 in the past 500 years, according to the National Geographic.
    In 1883, the eruption of Mount Krakatau located off Java's coast, triggered a tsunami that claimed more than 36,000 lives. ***4***
(f001/A/H-YH)(T.F001/A/F. Assegaf/A/Yosep) 13-02-2013 20:53:33