TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mount Sinabung in North Sumatera continues to show increasing volcanic activities. Until Tuesday, February 7, 2017, as many as 47 eruptions have been recorded since February 2, 2017.
"There were eight eruptions this morning without explosion sounds. The mount spewed thick white ash to a height of 1,000-2,000 meters from the mountain top, which heading to east," National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a press release on Tuesday, February 7, 2017.
The authority set the status of Mount Sinabung to Level IV alert and expanded the warning message to more areas.
"The mount also discharged lava as far as 500-2,000 meters to the south, southeast, and east. As a result, we continue to impose restrictions for public," Sutopo added.
Sutopo explained that as the danger zone expands, the number of people to be relocated also increases. According to Sutopo, the Karo administration is having troubles in finding an area for the relocation.
"The land for the relocation and agricultural activities is not yet available. A 250-hectare land for housing has been prepared in Siosar for 2,043 families. However, there is no land for agricultural activities, so people are not willing to be relocated," Sutopo explained.
Sutopo added that the condition would force the residents to stay in shelters, preventing them from having better lives.
Sutopo suggested that the key solution to the issue is to provide agriculture and housing lands for residents. The government is still finalizing the second stage of the relocation plan for 1,903 families. As many as 1,655 housing units are expected to complete in August 2017. Furthermore, 1,050 families have been included in the third stage of the relocation plan.
Sutopo revealed that as many as 370 families had been relocated to Siosar in the first stage of relocation. They were provided with houses, a 0.5-hectare agriculture land per family, and other aids.
EGI ADYATAMA
