By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA, Indonesia
The Indonesian government has distributed Rp 6 billion ($450,000) in aid to more than 10,000 people in North Sumatra displaced by the eruptions of Mount Sinabung, with many of those affected now expected to never return home.
With the volcano continuing to spew out ash on surrounding towns, including regional capital Medan, the government is having to make contingency plans.
The Head of Karo Regional Disaster Management Agency, Subur Tambun, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that some evacuees from three villages within a 3-kilometer radius of Mount Sinabung would be relocated as soon as possible to a housing complex in the Merek sub district of Karo.
The government has built 112 housing units in the area, and a further 370 are scheduled to be completed by the end of August.
"They should not return home," he added.
One of those displaced told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that 11 villages affected by the eruption are no longer inhabited.
Hariati Sitepu said that some people who had secretly returned at night to villages blanketed by falling ash had told her that all the sounds that they'd been used to - "such as birds, crickets and pets" - could no longer be heard.
"They quickly returned to the evacuation centers because the village atmosphere was just too creepy," she said.
National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Anadolu Agency that the aid funds were given directly by the Head of BNPB Syamsul Maarif to Karo Regent Terkelin Brahmana.
He said that the government would continue to support those displaced by the volcano, especially as it is not known how long the eruption will continue.
"The government would continue to help refugees meet their daily needs through the supply of tents as temporary shelters, food and medical services," Nugroho said.
He added that with eruptions on-going, the government was also looking at offering new livelihoods to those affected as much of the agricultural land surrounding the volcano had been destroyed.
BNPB has provided a total of Rp 141.2 billion ($10.6 million) since the mountain first erupted in 2013 after several years of dormancy.
In Feb, 2014, Sinabung killed at least 16 people and sent thousands more fleeing for their lives when it erupted.
The mountain is one of 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
