Bromo Eruptions Not Considered Extraordinary

The government has been handling the impacts of the on-going Mount Bromo eruptions in East Java through general measures as it does not see anything extraordinary in the volcanic activity, a minister said. "The handling (of the impacts) is being done in a general sense as we don’t see anything extraordinary in the Mt Bromo eruptions," Social Affairs Minister Al-Jufri told the press in an expose of his ministry’s work program for 2011 in Jakarta on Tuesday. Minister Al-Jufri explained the general handling of the impacts of the eruptions of Mount Bromo was that the government had been implementing emergency responses by supplying rice and other necessities stocked for emergency purposes in every province, including East Java.

The government has regularly been keeping emergency provisions amounting to 100 tons in every district that can be used anytime a natural disaster occurs , he said.

The 2,392-meter-high volcano in Probolinggo district , East Java province, erupted for the first time on November 27, 2010 and its alert status was reduced to a level lower to ready starting on December 23, 2010. However, Bromo began to erupt again with thundering sounds and spew thick volcanic ashes on December 30, 2010 that decreasing on January 1, 2011 despite volcanic tremors have been recurring with hot lava visible flowing down its slopes. Bromo is among prominent mount s on Java as its scenic sand desert on its caldera is its most attractive feature that draws many tourists.