Surabaya (Antara) - Army personnel stationed across the district and at city military posts in East Java Province have been put on standby to help evacuate people living in the vicinity of Mount Bromo if need be.
Evacuation could be required in case these people are endangered due to the eruption, a military officer said.
"The personnel have been put on standby, particularly those stationed at the military posts near Mount Bromo, such as Probolinggo and Lumajang," Chief of Brawijaya Regional Military Command, Major General Sumardi, told journalists after attending the commemoration of the Kartika Fighting Spirit Day here Tuesday.
Besides the personnel, the backhoes and excavators that the Brawijaya military command has will also be deployed to support any evacuation exercise if conditions worsen, he said.
"In handling the process to evacuate disaster victims, the National Defense Forces (TNI) have their own standard operating procedures. Along with the people, we are ready to help," Sumardi said.
In another development, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) revealed that Mount Bromo's volcanic activity remained high and the eruption went on from midnight till 06.00 am on Tuesday.
On December 12, this volcano's tremor activity remained high though Head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) monitoring post, Ahmad Subhan, said the status was still at Alert III.
"Volcanic activity of the 2,329 meter high mountain is still high and tremors have been happening with an increasing strength," he said at the post at Ngadisari village, Sukapura, Probolinggo. (*)
