BNPB Down To West Halmahera: Handling Mount Ibu Eruption Begins

WEST HALMAHERA Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) bergerak cepat menanggapi kenaikan status aktivitas Gunung Ibu di Kabupaten Halmahera Barat, Maluku Utara, dari level III Siaga menjadi level IV Awas pada Rabu 15 Januari.

On Thursday, the BNPB team led by the Deputy for Systems and Strategy, Raditya Jati, arrived in West Halmahera Regency to ensure that the post-eruption emergency response went well.

"We were ordered by the Head of BNPB to ensure that the community is in a safe condition," said Raditya.

BNPB also provides assistance to local governments, especially the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of West Halmahera Regency, to ensure that basic community needs can be met.

"We support local governments, and central governments are ready to help complete the needs that are still lacking," added Raditya.

During his visit, Raditya had a dialogue with the BPBD of North Maluku Province, West Halmahera Regent, Regional Secretary, West Halmahera Regency BPBD, and the local Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda). They discussed the initial steps for handling post-eruption, including ensuring that evacuation is feasible for the community.

The BNPB team also visited the Mother's Volcano Observation Post to find out the latest conditions from the PVMBG team (Villenge Center and Geological Disaster Mitigation).

"We continue to coordinate with observation posts. People are advised not to panic and only follow official information from PVMBG and the government," Raditya said at the observation post.

The BNPB team then visited a refugee post at the Tongotesungi Church, Akesibu Village, Ibu District, where 182 residents had fled. Residents reported that evacuation facilities were adequate, with food needs and health services available.

Mount Ibu continues to show eruption activity with the height of the ash column varying from 400 to 1,500 meters above the crater. The highest eruption was recorded at 15.44 WIT with a column of ash as high as 1,500 meters of thick gray color leading west. This activity was recorded as a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 28 mm and a duration of 98 seconds.

Given the high level of volcanic activity, the government urges the public and tourists not to carry out activities within a 5 km radius of the crater, and to avoid areas up to 6 km towards the northern crater opening.

The public is asked to follow directions from local governments and avoid information that cannot be accounted for.

These emergency response measures are expected to ensure the safety of residents around Mount Ibu and minimize further disaster risk.