The traumatic condition that the cold lava floods` victims was similar to that of the survivors of Mount Merapi`s eruptions, Agung Suhartoyo of the ministry of social welfare said here Sunday.
The impacts of the Mount Merapi`s cold lava disaster were apparently bigger than those of the volcano`s eruptions last year, he said.
Therefore, that situation could potentially affect the victims mentally. "Some have even undergone a change of attitude, especially children," he said.
Those children were wakened at night and asked to save themselves from the coming floods, Agung said.
The children did need counseling services so that they could cope with their trauma, he said.
In another development, Chief of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Jusuf Kalla said the regional governments should not always rely on the central government in handling natural disasters.
"We have central and regional governments. But, in handling such natural disasters as the Mount Merapi`s cold lava floods, the district and subdistrict governments are enough," he said.
Therefore, the subdistrict and district governments should not always rely on the central government, the former vice president said.
Similar to the PMI, the impacts of Mount Merapi`s cold lava floods were just handled by PMI personnel from Magelang district, Central Java province, he said.
Speaking to newsmen after visiting the cold lava disaster zone in Sirahan village, Salam subdistrict, Magelang district, he said the government had warned residents of being cautious with the cold lava floods.
The authorities were asked to prepare sites for the disaster`s evacuees.
"None can stop the natural disasters. What we can do is just maintaining our alertness and taking anticipatory measures to avoid fatalities," he said.
Mount Merapi had erupted repeatedly for several weeks but its most fatal eruptions occurred on October 26 and November 5, 2010.
As a result of the eruptions, at least 259 people had perished and many others sustained serious burns and became displaced.
Mount Merapi, on the border between two provinces, lies geographically close to Yogyakarta but is officially part of Central Java.
Besides killing and injuring several hundred people, eruptions had also damaged 867 hectares of forested land on the volcano`s slopes in Sleman District, Yogyakarta, with material losses estimated at Rp33 billion.
Mount Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, whose eruptions have regularly been detected since 1548. (*)
Reporter:
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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