Lava flood looming

Lava flood looming

YOGYAKARTA: The villages at the foot of Mt. Merapi are now
under constant threat of being flooded with lava which has been
accumulating on the crater's edge, the authorities warned.

Mas Atje Purbawanita of the Directorate of Volcanology who is
monitoring the situation said heavy rainfall is bound to send the
cold lava, now estimated at five million cubic meters, tumbling
down the mountain slope.

Mt. Merapi is classified as one of the most active volcanoes
in the world although its last fatal eruption was in 1930 when
about 1,300 people were killed. The major threat since then has
been the prospect of a lava flood. (emb)