Free Republic

Superstition stops villagers fleeing active Java volcano By Sebastien Berger on Mount Merapi (Filed: 15/05/2006) Clouds of ash and smoke and a fiery stream of lava were pouring out of Mount Merapi yesterday as Indonesian authorities grew increasingly concerned. Thousands of villagers fled the fertile slopes of the volcano after officials on the island of Java said an eruption was imminent. A fiery stream of lava cascades down the side of Mount Merapi on the island of Java yesterday They raised their alert to the highest possible status and ordered an evacuation of territory stretching up to seven miles from...