Posted on 05/13/2006 11:18:38 AM PDT by blam
Red alert for Indonesia volcano
Thousands living under the volcano have been told to leave.
Thousands of people living on the slopes of Mount Merapi in Indonesia are being taken to safety, because of fears the volcano may be about to erupt. Old people, women and children have been taken to emergency shelters, after officials monitoring the volcano raised the threat status to the highest level.
The volcano has been rumbling for weeks but is becoming more volatile.
Streams of lava have been flowing down one side of the mountain, which is also spewing out hot volcanic ash and smoke.
However some villagers have refused to move because they do not want to leave their crops and livestock.
Danger zone
The lava has not reached any residential areas - but the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Indonesia says the authorities are not taking any chances.
"This morning we raised the status of Merapi to the top alert which is the red code," Subandrio, head of the Merapi section at the Centre for Volcanological Research and Technology Development said on Saturday.
Mount Merapi is in a state of "constant lava flow"
"Every resident has been ordered to evacuate."
Military trucks have been used to ferry thousands of people away from the danger zone.
Officials have been struggling to conduct mass evacuations as some villagers are reluctant to leave their valuable farmland.
Some residents told officials they are worried about their property, cattle and crops.
However on Saturday a resident told Reuters news agency by phone: "Everything ran smoothly, just like the exercises".
No choice
The scientists still cannot say when the volcano will erupt nor how powerful any explosion might be.
Merapi - which means "mountain of fire" - is now in a state of "constant lava flow".
A gas cloud from the volcano's last eruption in 1994 killed 60 people.
Local television has been showing dramatic night-time pictures of a stream of lava slipping down one side of the mountain.
How and why volcanoes erupt.
But scientists warn that the greatest danger could come from hot gasses expelled from the volcano's crater.
Volcanologist Bambang Dwiyanto said the alert had been raised because "there has been constant lava flows that cause hot gases".
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla toured the area on Thursday and ordered 50% of the population in the danger zone be moved.
Indonesia, part of the Asia-Pacific "Ring of Fire", has at least 129 active volcanoes.
Mount Merapi, which some locals consider sacred, overlooks the ancient city of Jogjakarta.
One of its deadliest eruptions was in 1930, when about 1,300 people were killed.
An amazing phenomenon. I hope no one is hurt in what is to come. After that, I hope geologists can learn a lot from it.
The other half of you must die!!
If anyone knows of a web cam????
Late Pleostocene Human Population Bottleneck . . . (Toba)
"The evidence from the Toba eruption indicates that the world's population of Modern Man was reduced to a total of around 10,000 adults"
Allah is obviously about to show his displeasure over the
fact that the locals don't hate "infidels" enough.
Click on the BBC site for this article...it says 'video', maybe thats it.
Snort! LOL!
Well! Here's more proof of global warming. I hope you Freepers are paying attention!
This volcano is clearly George Bush's fault!
Part of the "Ring of Fire."
If a major eruption occurs, it will be interesting to see how it affects global temperatures.
Of course they do, how else can they strum the heartstrings of the world and get the needed donations to take care of their own people? A couple of melted villages and "Presto!" instant subsidies from around the world...
Volcanoes always cool.
I think they're pretty cool, too...
I suspect the effects will be largely in the southern hemisphere, although particulates can eventually make it to our side of the planet if the amounts are large.
I believe Americans saw the effect of the eruption at Krakatoa.
BTW, don't bother looking for this volcano on Google Earth. It's covered with clouds.
Not a problem--leftists tell us that you can change the weather by buying "carbon credits". Hopefully Indonesia is on the phone with their credit card snapping those bad boys up.
Here's another good site for information on Indonesian volcanoes
http://discover-indo.tierranet.com/volcano04.htm
Hey, think of it this way. If the eruption is big enough(Toba-size)it will shut up all of those wackos constantly whining about global warming
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