Evacuations Resume as Mount Ruang Eruption Continues

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The joint task force for handling Mount Ruang eruptions continues to rescue affected residents on Sunday, April 21. The stratovolcano on Sangihe Island, North Sulawesi has been erupting since April 16.

Since April 17, when the mountain’s alert level was escalated to the highest level of IV, the North Sulawesi provincial government, in tandem with the Sitaro Regency government, has been gradually evacuating residents in the area within a six-kilometer radius of the summit, as recommended by the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG).

Abdul Muhari, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s (BNPB) Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, said that apart from the evacuation to a safe radius area, residents were also evacuated to areas outside Tagulandang Island, such as Manado City, Bitung City, and North Minahasa.

The temporary relocation of the affected residents was facilitated by the Indonesian Navy using a warship KRI Kakap 811, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) using a motorboat KM Bima Sena, and the state-owned seaport operator ASDP using KM Marina, KM Lokong Banua, KM Lohoraung, KM Pasatibo and other ferries as well as motorboats belonging to residents.

“The residents being evacuated from Tagulandang Island are migrants, including local residents who have families in Manado City, Bitung City, and Minahasa, and vulnerable groups including pregnant women, the elderly, people with disabilities, and residents who are sick and need intensive care,” Muhari explained in a press release on Monday, April 22.

“The entire series of evacuations is solely for safety and security reasons [following the eruption of Mount Ruang],” Muhari added.

IRSYAN HASYIM (CONTRIBUTOR)

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