REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The National Disasters Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has reported that 245 people were killed in natural disasters since early this year.

The BNPB data shows that about 80 percent of the disasters were hydro-meteorological disasters, such as floods, landslides, drought, land and forest fires and tsunami.

"From January until now, there have been 372 disasters that claimed the lives of 245 victims. About 1,523 people suffered from injuries, while another 1,044,990 were evacuated," head of the BNPB, Syamsul Maarif, said at a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission VIII on social affairs, here on Tuesday.

Since early this year, the agency also reported, 3,000 houses were heavily damaged and 603 and 5,637 were, respectively, moderately and lightly damaged. The number of houses that was submerged under water reached 271,109.

In the meantime, a total of 54 schools, 51 houses of worship and 17 medical care centers were also damaged.

Regarding damaged agricultural areas, the agency noted that it has increased to 54,972 hectares.

"There will be an upward trend in the future because the people's demands are also increasing. So the population also poses a special problem," the BNPB chief stated.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said last month that the government will help repair houses, school buildings and health facilities damaged by the recent spate of natural disasters in the country.

"The government will repair houses, school buildings and health service centers as well as restore people's livelihoods, which were affected by the disasters," the President stated on his Twitter account @SBYudhoyono on Tuesday (Feb.18.)

A number of natural disasters have affected the country in the past few weeks.

Last month, Mount Kelud, located on the border of the three districts of Kediri, Blitar,and Malang, erupted at around 10:50 p.m., spewing ash and gravel.

The volcanic ash dispersed 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 kilometers, estimated to reach 200 million cubic meters, which were then dispersed by the winds.

The eruption forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

President Yudhoyono inspected Mt. Kelud's eruption evacuation center at An-Nuur Mosque in Kediri.

The evacuation center at the mosque accommodates some three thousand people from villages within a radius of 7 to 10 kilometers from the mountain.

While in East Java, the President also inspected an evacuee command post in the Nglegok village in Blitar district on Monday evening.

The president expressed hope that the volcanic activity on Mount Kelud will soon return to normal levels and the evacuees will be able to live together with their families in their homes.

However, the evacuees need to be patient until the situation is resolved, he added.

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