Increased activity spotted in two more volcanoes

Increased activity spotted in two more volcanoes

The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Padang/Jakarta

Two volcanoes in the western part of the island of Java have
registered increased activity on Wednesday, only a day after the
Mt. Talang volcano erupted in West Sumatra, sparking fear that
more terrifying natural disasters would soon rock the country.

A government official imposed an alert status for Mt. Anak
Krakatau in the Sunda Strait on Wednesday morning after 32 mild
earthquakes rattled the volcano's crater. An alert status is
issued whenever a series of earthquakes in the area of a volcano
occurs, followed by an increase in temperature.

"Over the past two weeks, mild earthquakes have occurred two
to nine times a day, but suddenly today 32 earthquakes were
registered," said Surono, a volcanology and geological disaster
mitigation official.

Similarly, increased activity was also found in the Mt.
Tangkuban Perahu volcano near Bandung, some hundreds of
kilometers east of Mt. Anak Krakatau. While on normal days
earthquakes from the volcano happened between two and seven times
a day, on Wednesday 100 earthquakes were recorded, according to
Surono.

On Wednesday, Government officials asked 150 local and foreign
tourists to stay away from the crater of Mt. Tangkuban Perahu.

Kuswardi, the chief of a volcano observation post, said that
the areas around the volcano had been closed to the public since
8 a.m. on Wednesday. "We are afraid that the volcano will erupt
suddenly," said Syamsul Rizal, a senior official with the
directorate. In the meantime, residents had to watch out for
possible emissions of poisonous gases from the volcano's crater,
Syamsul added.

The volcano, a smoldering 2,076-meter high mountain located
near densely populated Bandung city, last erupted two years ago.
The other volcano, Anak Krakatau, last erupted four years ago,
spewing hot ash and black smoke.

Syamsul has speculated that the Mt. Talang eruption and the
increased activity on Mt. Tangkuban Perahu and Anak Krakatau were
closely related to the series of huge earthquakes that rocked
Aceh and Nias island recently.

The first earthquake that hit Aceh province on Dec. 26 last
year registered 9.3 on the Richter scale, while another quake on
March 28 that jolted the island of Nias registered 8.7.

"The two huge earthquakes have created a domino effect. They
have stirred instability on the west Sumatra plate," said
Syamsul. The earthquake happened after the Indo-Australia plate
pushed the Euro-Asia plate in the western part of Sumatra, making
the area unstable. The movement, that unleashed hot energy, has
melted rocks inside the earth and turned it fluid, pushing magma
to the surface, according to Syamsul.

Meanwhile, volcanic activity has decreased at Mt. Talang in
Solok regency, West Sumatra, a day after it erupted on Tuesday.

Dalipa, a volcano observer, said that between Tuesday evening
until Wednesday afternoon, no significant eruptions have occurred
at the volcano.

The situation was quite different to early Tuesday morning,
when a large eruption spewed ashes up to a kilometer high. Ash
fell as far as 10 kilometers away, and reduced visibility to five
kilometers. The eruption was believed to have been triggered by a
6.7 tremor that jolted the island of Siberut in West Sumatra on
Sunday.

Separately, governors from across the archipelago attended a
lecture on earthquakes at the State Palace. Wednesday evening's
lecture was held at the invitation of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, and is aimed at providing knowledge for governors on
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions so that they can be better
prepared if such disasters strike their areas.