Posted on 05/13/2006 6:21:29 AM PDT by xcamel
JAKARTA, Indonesia May 13, 2006 (AP)— Indonesian authorities on Saturday ordered the immediate evacuation of thousands of people who for weeks have refused to heed the ominous rumblings of Mount Merapi and the burning lava oozing from its mouth.
Hundreds of people began fleeing the 9,700-foot peak after authorities put the area on highest alert, having observed two days of steady lava flow. Bambang Dwiyanto, the head of the region's volcanology center, said an eruption may be imminent.
"Because there has been constant lava flows that cause hot gases, we have raised the status to the highest level," Dwiyanto said.
The crater had been relatively quiet for years until it began rumbling and spewing clouds of black ash a few weeks ago.
On Saturday, experts recorded 27 volcanic tremors, said Ratdomo Purbo, who heads an observation post on Merapi. He said the mountain belched clouds of hot ash at least 14 times over the course of the day. Lava flows had reached nearly a mile down its slopes, he said.
Officials were using buses and trucks to relocate women, children and elderly to shelters set up in schools and government buildings elsewhere on the densely populated Central Java province.
Many people had already been evacuated from homes closest to the crater, but thousands who live further down the mountain had refused to leave. Officials have said as many as 7,000 people remained to be evacuated.
Even after Saturday's warning, some farmers insisted on staying, reluctant to leave previous livestock and crops.
"We will not leave soon," said one cattle farmer who declined to give his name.
Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
Many people who live in the mountain's shadow believe that spirits watch over the peak and will warn them of an eruption.
Although most Indonesians are Muslim, many also follow animist beliefs and worship ancient spirits. Often at full moons, people trek to crater rims and throw in rice, jewelry and live animals to appease the volcanoes.
Merapi last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.
The volcano is about 20 miles from the Yogyakarta, a city of 1 million, and about 250 miles southeast of the capital Jakarta.
Or Mother Earth just adjusting her girdle :)
No aid this time.
Why aren’t there environmentalists out there with signs to stop global warming?
Ping and question: Has the changes within the subduction and slip zones allowed for increased volcanic activity?
I think I saw "Allah is Great" written in the smoke. [just trying to get ahead of Muslim loonies by being first to decare this]
That she blows!!!
Villagers walk as Mount Merapi is seen on the background in
Kemiren village, Central Java, Indonesia, Saturday. (AP Photo)
Map locates Mount Merapi volcano in Java, Indonesia. (AP Graphic)
Thar she blows ... :)
Why not?
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