Mt Agung Evacuees To Lombok Continue To Increase

id Gunung Agung

Mt Agung Evacuees To Lombok Continue To Increase

Mount Agung in Bali.(Antara Bali/Nyoman Budhiana)

"Hundreds of displaced people affected by Mt Agung are scattered in Mataram City, and the districts of West Lombok, North Lombok, and East Lombok"
Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Oct 8 (Antara) - The number of displaced people, affected by Mount Agung in Bali, who came to Lombok Island to take shelter, continues to grow, according to West Nusa Tenggara Regional Disaster Management spokesman Muhammad Rum.

He said the number of evacuees recorded up to October 8, 2017 has reached as many as 105 heads of family or 376 people while four days earlier it was only 54 heads of family or 161 people.

"Hundreds of displaced people affected by Mt Agung are scattered in Mataram City, and the districts of West Lombok, North Lombok, and East Lombok," Muhammad remarked here on Sunday.

He said the they began to flee to Lombok island since volcanic activity of Mt Agung in Karangasem District, Bali, was raised to alert status on September 22, 2017.

Bali Provincial Health Office Head Ketut Suarjaya confirmed that 420 health professionals were on standby daily to serve evacuees following the announcement of the alert status of Mount Agung.

"A total of 420 health professionals comprising doctors, nurses, midwives, environmental health workers, and nutrition personnel will be on alert for 24 hours at seven major posts," he noted in Denpasar on Friday.

He stated that a total of 114 health posts were spread across some districts in Bali Province comprising 58 in Karangasem, 43 in Klungkung, four in Tabanan, three in Buleleng, five in Bangli, and one in Gianyar.

"For small health posts, some health workers are on alert for 24 hours, and some are not. However, the small health posts are being monitored by health workers at the nearest major posts," he revealed.

He affirmed that the on-field efforts were not only directed at conducting an examination of the evacuees` health conditions but also preventing diseases.

Efforts being made are disease surveillance and early detection of malaria, clean water quality checks, chlorination for the protection of springs, vector control through fogging in four evacuee locations, and monitoring of the evacuees` nutrition, among others. (*)