REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LANGKAT -- In the wake of the recent Mount Sinabung eruption, the evacuation post in Langkat, North Sumatra, has prohibited the residents from returning back to their homes until the situation completely normalizes.

"We forbid the Karo residents from returning back to their homes until the situation is completely safe," Telagah Village Chief Suranta Sitepu stated here on Monday.

This warning was issued after the Mount Sinabung abruptly roared back to life on Sunday (Feb. 1), claiming the lives of 14 people.

This prohibitory step must be strictly followed by all, as the evacuees often tend to go back home to check on the condition of their houses and cattle and then return back to their evacuation camps.

"We continue to tighten security measures at the evacuation posts to thwart any individual from going towards the Mount Sinabung," he emphasized.

The current operations at the evacuation post are jointly assisted by the military and police personnel to guard the border of the Langkat and Karo Districts, in order to prohibit any citizen from venturing close to the Mount Sinabung.

The warning was issued, as some people often slyly returned back to their homes, without intimating the officers at the evacuation post.

After taking shelter at the evacuation post for several days, the evacuees usually start venturing back to their houses to check the current status of their properties and cattle, Suranta added.

Suranta also reaffirmed the warning issued to the male evacuees about not returning to their homes until the situation is deemed completely safe.

Currently, there are about 716 people displaced as a result of the Mount Sinabung eruption and are housed at an evacuation post comprising 223 households.

These residents hail from six villages in the district of Tanah Karo, who fled their homes four months back. They came to Langkat using the north route of Mount Sinabung, as Langkat was closer to their homes, in comparison to the Tanah Karo capital in Kabanjahe, explained Suranta.

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