President Prabowo Conveys Condolences And Guarantees Victims Of Eruption In NTT

President Prabowo Subianto expressed his condolences to the families of the victims who died as a result of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), while ensuring that the needs of the affected residents are fulfilled during the emergency response period.

The statement was made by the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK), Pratikno at a press conference in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, November 5.

Pratikno stated that the President had delegated the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Suharyanto, and Deputy Minister of Social Affairs Agus Jabo Priyono to ensure that all emergency disaster management efforts in East Flores were carried out quickly and precisely.

The group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and BNPB who also brought logistical assistance to the disaster victims from the central government are currently still on their way.

They must transit from Jakarta to the area closest to the impact of the closure of four airports for direct flights to NTT, then the trip is continued using land-sea crossings to East Flores.

According to Pratikno, priority emergency handling starts from evacuating all residents in affected areas within the eruption range radius, providing adequate shelters, ensuring access to the distribution of open logistics assistance, reliable health services to a detailed assessment of victim data collection by name by address to facilitate further action.

BNPB reported that there were around 2,735 families or 10,295 residents affected by this volcanic eruption. They are residents of 14 villages in the administrative area of Ile Bura, Titehena, and Wulangitang sub-districts in East Flores Regency.

As of Monday (4/11) at 20.00 WITA, 1,403 victims of the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki who had been successfully evacuated to evacuation by the joint SAR team, including nine people who died and one critical person.

The Regent of East Flores has determined an emergency response status that will be active until December 31, 2024. This status is an important basis as an administrative requirement to carry out all efforts to deal with disaster victims.

"The most important thing right now is to evacuate all residents within a seven-kilometer radius which must be clear immediately, then we will carry out the next stage," said Pratikno.