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Merapi, which means “mountain of fire”, dominates the centre of the island of Java near the old city of Yogyakarta, the seat of sultans and cradle of Javanese culture. It has erupted 68 times since 1548, killing 1,300 people in 1930 and 43 in 1994... Yusuf Kalla, Indonesia’s vice-president, who ordered an immediate evacuation after touring the area, said that the villagers had to be protected from their faith in magical rituals to calm the volcano. The volcano is credited with supernatural significance by many Indonesians and some believe a heavenly kingdom exists at its summit. Although most of Indonesia’s...

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia - Thousands of people fled the fertile slopes of Indonesia's most dangerous volcano Saturday as glowing lava oozed down the side and ash and rock spewed from the mountaintop, leading authorities to warn that an eruption could come soon. Villages on Mount Merapi were left virtually empty. Women, children and the elderly filled buses and trucks to be driven to shelters set up at government buildings and schools in nearby towns on the island of Java. Throughout the day, volcanic tremors shook the ground, some strong enough to send people running in fear. After nightfall, fiery magma...

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....

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...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's rumbling Mount Merapi is spewing volcanic ash, magma has fully covered its crater, and a powerful eruption could come any day, a scientist said Thursday. Authorities said, however, they were not ready to raise the alert to the highest level, which requires immediate evacuation of villagers living on the slopes of the 9,700-foot peak. The mountain, one of the most active in Indonesia, is still in phase two, they said. "It's close to eruption," said Dewi Sri, a vulcanologist at a monitoring post near Merapi's peak. "The crater is fully covered by magma," she said, predicting...

Suherdjoko and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Magelang, Boyolali With Mt. Merapi spewing ash overnight, residents of three districts close to the Central Java volcano prepared Wednesday morning to evacuate. Nurjahid, a resident of Srumbung in the town of Magelang, one of the three districts along with Dukun and Sawangan, said residents were getting ready and increasing the frequency of patrols. "When we hear a gong repeatedly sound, we will run to safety," he said. Many residents have moved their belongings and livestock to safer places. Gito, 30, took his seven goats from Ngablak to another village some five kilometers...

Link post (provided to alert interested FR members to the post and images in the FR "chat" section, where any discussion should be posted): Geology Picture of the Week, September 14-20, 2003: The Hellmouth (and more)

Click on this image to see the larger version: Some bonus links: Merapi Volcano from Space Station 500-meter resolution view of the Great Barrier Reef