Three of the evacuees died from asthma, Head of Media Center of Mount Sinabung Eruption Post in Kabanjahe Jhonson Tarigan said here on Sunday.
They were Amal Sitepu who died on December 16, Idris Sembiring who died on December 7 and Paijem Sembiring who died on December 3, he said.
The others were Masri Kaban who died from diabetes/heart attack on December 15, Erlen Surbakti who died from asthma, kidney disorders and lever on December 13, and Noviana br Pandia who died from depression on December 23, he said.
He said all evacuees who got ill had been treated at a hospital in Kabanjahe city.
Data from the Mount Sinabung disaster mitigation command post shows the number of evacuees sheltered in 31 different command posts in Kabanjahe reached 18,807 until Saturday (Dec 28). The evacuees come from 22 villages and two hamlets in Karo district.
On Sunday (Dec 22), at around 10 a.m. the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) raised the danger status of the volcano to a higher level, as it continued to expel volcanic rocks measuring 3 to 4 cm, up to 4 kilometers away, thereby making evacuation mandatory for the people living within the five kilometer radius of the crater.
Reporting by Munawar Mandailing
(S012)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
