THE MINISTRY of Social Affairs has distributed various aid to communities affected by the eruption of Mount Ruang (725 meters above sea level) in the Siau Islands Regency, Tagulandang Biaro (Sitaro), North Sulawesi Province. The volcano, which is in the middle of the Sulawesi Sea and is located about 125 nautical miles or a six-hour boat trip from Manado, erupted explosively since Tuesday (16/4) at 21.45 local time and continued the following day.
Around 826 people who lived in two villages at the foot of Mount Ruang, namely Laingpatihe Village and Pumpete Village, fled to the nearest island, namely Tagulandang Island, which can be reached in about an hour by sea. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) stated that the danger radius is around six kilometers from the center of the active crater of Mount Ruang. Because of this, residents of two villages on the west coast of Tagulandang Island, namely Bahoi Village and Balehumara Village, also fled to the eastern part of Tagulandang Island.
Upon receiving information about the eruption of Mount Ruang, the Ministry of Social Affairs immediately dispatched a team to the disaster location and distributed various aid from the Manado Tumou Tou Center.
“Apart from bringing logistical assistance, we also brought nurses and psychologists. “We are working with the local health service to handle refugees,” said Head of the Tumou Tou Manado Center, Ministry of Social Affairs, Meerada Saryati Aryani, Friday (19/4).
It is not easy to reach Tagulandang Island, which borders the Southern Philippines, because it can only be accessed by sea. That’s why the Ministry of Social Affairs is collaborating with the Indonesian Navy to bring and distribute aid.
“We departed from the Limited Patrol Unit Port (Satroltas), Bitung, Manado to Tagulandang Island using KRI Kakap 811 TNI AL. This sea journey took 6 hours,” said the Ministry of Social Affairs Task Force, Devario Ardiansyahrul Ozifeira.
Also read: Mount Ruang eruption, Sam Ratulangi Airport temporarily closed
Devario added that upon arrival at the port on Tagulandang Island, logistical aid was transported to the evacuation location which was around 5 km away. Transportation is assisted by using vehicles owned by the local community independently.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has set up tents for public kitchens and logistics storage for refugees in Apengsala Village, Tagulandang Biaro Siau Islands Regency. The assistance from the Sentra Tomou Tou Manado logistics warehouse that was brought to the location was in the form of 800 packages of ready-to-eat food, 500 packages of ready-to-eat side dishes, 500 packages of children’s food, 100 blankets, 200 packages of adult clothing, 150 packages of children’s clothing, 160 packages of family kits, 100 packages of kids ware, 100 roll-up tents, 20 units of portable family tents and 5 units of multi-purpose tents.
The Ministry of Social Affairs also immediately set up a public kitchen to meet the needs of the refugees.
Also read: Mount Ruang eruptions, tsunamis and ejections of incandescent rocks are still prone to occur
“To meet the needs of public kitchens, the Ministry of Social Affairs has prepared 1 ton of rice, 900 kg of eggs and a public kitchen car which has started operating this Friday,” said Meerada, adding.
The team deployed consisted of a team from the Directorate of Social Protection and Natural Disaster Victims (PSKBA) of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Taskforce, Sentra Tumou Tou Manado and staff, Head of the Social Protection and Security Division of the North Sulawesi Social Service, North Sulawesi and North Sulawesi Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana).
Meanwhile, hail from the explosive eruption of Mount Ruang caused PLN to implement a temporary power outage to anticipate a fire. That’s why the Ministry of Social Affairs also brought in 5 additional generators to help with lighting in refugee camps.
Apart from providing logistical assistance, Psychosocial Support Services (LDP) will start to be implemented on Friday 19 April 2024. “This LDP targets children who are in refugee camps,” concluded Meerada. (Z-6)
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