Expert warns of Mt. Merapi lahar

SEMARANG, Central Java: The large lahar dome on the peak of Mount Merapi has begun to crack and poses a real threat as the region enters the rainy season, according to a volcanology official.

Mas Atje Purbawinata, who heads the volcanology office in Yogyakarta, 30 kilometers south of Merapi, warned people living on the upper slopes of the 2,914 meter conic volcano to be prepared for sudden cold lahar avalanches brought on by heavy rain.

The dome on top of the mountain consists of an estimated 4.1 million cubic meters of lahar.

Such avalanches may also give rise to deadly heat clouds, with temperatures of at least 600 degrees Celsius, burning everything down the slope of the volcano.

The volcano is already spewing columns of smoke 900 meters high from the rim of the crater. In the past few days, erratic low frequency tremors have been recorded.

Purbawinata was quoted by Antara as saying that heavy rain could carry sediment into river beds on the mountain slopes and cause flash flooding in the form of mud.

Merapi last erupted in 1994 with heat clouds killing more than 60 people and forcing more than 6,000 people to evacuate to safer areas. An eruption in November 1976 killed 28 people and left 1,176 people homeless. (swe)