Posted on 06/12/2006 9:20:11 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia - Mount Merapi's unstable lava dome has partially collapsed, easing pressure that threatened to make the Indonesian volcano erupt.
However, the mountain remains as the "highest possible alert," volcanologist Antonius Ratdomopurbo said on Monday.
"We should know within two days whether we can lower the (alert) level," Ratdomopurbo said.
The mountain has been venting steam and debris for weeks, but its lava dome swelled after a powerful May 28 earthquake, raising concerns the dome could suddenly collapse, sending scalding gas, rocks and debris hurtling into populated areas.
A huge, superheated cloud, the largest this year, brought down a section of the dome on Friday and created a new crater, relieving pressure on the dome.
"Now that the magma can flow out into the new crater, the dome will become much more stable," Ratdomopurbo said.
But he warned that 250,000 beleaguered villagers near Merapi were not yet in the clear, as a crack in the lava dome's southern foot had widened, threatening to unleash more powerful surges of superheated gas.
He said Friday's explosion reduced the dome's height from 380 feet to 305 feet, while its volume dropped to 116 million cubic feet from 140 million cubic feet.
A pyroclastic flow — a fast-moving burst of blistering gases and rock fragments — is the main concern. One killed more than 60 villagers in 1994.
As the volcano smoldered above them, defiant residents of its lower slopes have returned from refugee camps to tend to their normally lush green fields, now coated with gray ash.
Men in conical bamboo hats slammed hoes into Merapi's dark, fertile soil. An ash-covered woman swept gray soot from foliage before hacking it down to feed her livestock.
"I am unafraid. I believe the hot cloud will not attack us," said Suno Sudaraso, who refused to evacuate during last week's eruption. "My four cows will die if I don't feed them. They are my life."
The 9,700-foot Merapi is notoriously unpredictable, and scientists say they don't know for sure if a major eruption is imminent.
About 1,300 people died when it erupted in 1930.
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Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report.
Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupts with molten rock and huge clouds of hot gas as seen from Deles village in Klaten, Indonesia, early Monday, June 12, 2006. A massive blast of searing gas has collapsed a portion of Mount Merapi's unstable lava dome, easing pressure that threatened a full-blown eruption, but the volcano still could be deadly. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupts with molten rock and huge clouds of hot gas as seen from Deles village in Klaten, Indonesia, early Monday, June 12, 2006. A massive blast of searing gas has collapsed a portion of Mount Merapi's unstable lava dome, easing pressure that threatened a full-blown eruption, but the volcano still could be deadly. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Hot lava flows from the Mount Merapi volcano as seen from Cangkringan village, near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, 440 km (273 miles) east of Jakarta, June 12, 2006. REUTERS/Supri (INDONESIA)
Hot lava flows from the Mount Merapi volcano as seen from Gondang Arum village in the district of Sleman, near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, 440 km (273 miles) east of Jakarta, June 11, 2006. (Supri - INDONESIA/Reuters)
Hot lava flows from the Mount Merapi volcano as seen from Deles village near Indonesia's town of Klaten in Central Java June 11, 2006. REUTERS/Arif Ardian (INDONESIA)
I swear it isn't my fault.
Did it ever occur to these people to move their livestock? I keep hearing this type of report.
On another note, how does this volcano compare to Mt. Pinatubo (sp?)?
Pres Bush? That you?
No, but 'news of the odd/weird' gets blamed on me, like possessed appliances and such.
There is an extremely dangerous volcano in the Canary Islands which, if the dome collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean, could wipe out every city on the East Coast of America. The mega tsunami it would produce would possibly reach a height of 1000+ feet as it raced across the ocean at more than 600 mph.
Merapi is a very active volcano, Pinatubo much less so..
but when they go, lives have been lost in the past and may be again sometime in the future,
When?
No one knows for sure.
--
Over the last 10,000 years or so.
Eruptive History Pinatubo
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0703-083&volpage=erupt&VErupt=Y&VSources=Y&VRep=Y&VWeekly=Y
Eruptive History Merapi
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0603-25=&volpage=erupt&VErupt=Y&VSources=Y&VRep=Y&VWeekly=Y
This has largely been debunked by the majority of the Tsunami research community...not like you'd hear about that from the MSM.
That's the one ... I think it's on the southern end of its Island.
Actually, it has been strengthened of late by the major collapse that happened in Alaska back in the 50's, I think, which produced a wave several hundred feet high in an islet and out to the ocean. Swiss researchers are doing experiments to understand the 'collapse' phenomenon better.
They're completely different, really.
Merapi erupts very often in small eruptions. It's never had an eruption that affected much beyond a few miles of itself or that has affected world climate or anything.
Pinatubo completely blows up every 500-1000 years or so.
The largest known eruption of Merapi in the last 10,000 years was only about 1/1000th the size of the Pinatubo eruption in 1991.
The danger of Merapi is the incredibly dense population on and around it; Java is one of the most densely populated areas on earth. Thus you have thousands of people exposed to small pyroclastic flows and such that on most volcanoes wouldn't even get mentioned in the news.
Nope. It hasn't. I suspect you don't read the Journal of Tsunami research.
The Lituya Bay eruption has very little to do with what (basically one guy) was claiming about La Palma (and frankly I think the frenzied media attention went to his head.)
Landslide Tsunami have difficulty propagating great distances - unlike earthquake tsunami. It's one thing to project a big local tsunami, another to project a teletsunami.
If you're only getting your science info from the MSM, you're not getting good info. They only want to report the exciting and the dangerous. You have to read scientific journals directly.
I picked up a couple volcano videos for the kids, at Marshall's of all places, and it turned out one of them was a documentary about the USGS and how it followed the whole eruption of the volcano from when there were first reports of it becoming active until it blew. There was some really impressive footage of the days just before and the actual eruption itself, mostly taken by soldiers at the military base there. The immensity of the whole thing is mind boggling. Fascinating video.
Cool map, BTW,
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