Indonesia: Over 5,000 return home after Mount Lokon eruptions

[News_Editor]

Indonesia: Over 5,000 return home after Mount Lokon eruptions

2011-07-25 21:42:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANADO, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Over 5,000 evacuated residents following the eruptions in Indonesia's Mount Lokon, which is located on the northern tip of the island of Sulawesi, have begun returning to their homes, officials said on Monday.

Tomohon Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Secretary Leivi Golioth told Antara news agency that some 5,437 evacuees started going back to their residences at around 11.30 a.m. local time and will continue to be sent back until the afternoon to Kinilow, Kinilow I Wailan, Kakaskasen I and Kakaskasen villages, as the alert levels were lowered and the condition is now considered safer.

However, officials told residents to remain alert, as the status of Mount Lokon was not lowered from the fourth level, adding that they could be evacuated again in the case of another eruption.

Emergency teams and relief work will continue active, PMI personnel Hengky Riey said. Residents will have aid until next week, he added, stating that baby milk, rice, plastic baskets, blankets, mats, sheets, and canned fish had been distributed to refugees, which are mostly from Kinilow, Kiniow I, Kakaskasen, Wailan, and Kakaskasen I, and some from Kayawu in North Tomohon.

Last Monday, Mount Lokon erupted twice as thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate the area. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said the eruptions were only 10 minutes apart. The first one was registered at 1:24 p.m. local time, and the second at 1:34 p.m., Antara news agency reported.

BNPB's Data and Information Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho chief said the first eruption produced a thick gray cloud that rose to a height of 200 meters (656 feet), while the second one spewed out a 600-meter (1,968-feet) ash cloud above the Tompaluan crater.

Dozens of active volcanoes in Indonesia are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Next to Mount Lokon is its volcanic twin, Mount Empung, just 2.2 kilometers (1.3 miles) away.

One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes is Mount Merapi, which is located on the island of Java near Jogjakarta, the country's second-most visited area after Bali. Last year, more than 300 people were killed in a series of eruptions between October and November that also displaced over 300,000 people.

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