East Java Police Send Aid to MT Kelud Eruption Evacuacees

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - The East Java provincial police have sent five trucks of foodstuff to evacuees from last Thursday's Mount Kelud eruption. "We have sent not only personnel but also five trucks of foodstuff," spokesman of the East Java provincial police Snr. Comr. Awi Setiyono stated on Wednesday. Deputy Chief of the East Java provincial police Suprodjo WS saw off the trucks at the provincial police station on Tuesday, he noted. The relief aid includes instant noodles, sugar and other basic necessaries, he explained. "All aids have already reached the locations (of evacuee camps). May it be useful," he stated. The aid that came from the provincial police was sent by the police from several districts in the province, for the evacuees, he added. "Hopefully, the aid will alleviate their financial burden," he noted. The provincial police have received support from the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta to conduct humanitarian operations in Kediri, Blitar and Malang districts, which bore the brunt of the Mount Kelud eruption. The support aids include two buses, two trucks, one ambulance, one special Search and Rescue (SAR) vehicle, and water purifier. Mount Kelud, which is located on the border of the three districts of Kediri, Blitar and Malang, erupted at around 10.50 p.m. last Thursday spewing ash and gravel. The volcanic ash went as far away as West Java and the West Nusa Tenggara provinces located hundreds of kilometers away. The volcano spewed volcanic materials as high as 17 kilometer estimated to reach 200 million cubic meters, which were then flown away by winds. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, the materials, at a height between 1.5 thousand and 3 thousand meters, had been blown northward and northeastward, while at the height of 5 thousand had been blown northwest, while from 10 thousand to 15 thousand meters high was blown westward and southwestward, and at the height of 17 thousand meters, went eastward. The eruption forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. (*) (S012/INE/H-YH) Reporting by Edy M Ya'kub EDITED BY INE