Mount Merapi rumble causes evacuation

Mount Merapi rumble causes evacuation

JAKARTA (JP): Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano,
continued to spew burning ash and lava yesterday, prompting
authorities to begin evacuating residents and close off tourist
attractions, officials said.

Authorities have heightened the alert level for a possible
major explosion. Residents living close to the 2,968-meter-high
volcano were asked to be ready for evacuation, in case a major
explosion was imminent.

Tourist attractions in Kaliurang, some six kilometers south of
Merapi, have been closed to the public. Kaliurang was among the
worst affected areas when the volcano last exploded in 1994.

Informed sources told The Jakarta Post that among venues
closed were the Cangkringan golf course and Bebeng Kaliadem
camping ground.

Residents of Turgo and Tritis villages were evacuated
Wednesday night to Tarakanita school buildings in Pakembinagun.
Local authorities in Sleman have readied emergency tents in
anticipation of the worst.

Authorities in Sleman have also stopped sand quarrying in the
Boyong River, which originates in Merapi, since Tuesday in
anticipation of lava flood that may hit any time.

"All workers have been ordered to leave the river and trucks
to evacuate until further notice," said an official in charge of
natural disaster in Sleman.

In early 1996, a major cold lava flood pushed dozens of trucks
into the river, naturally providing sand quarrying companies with
abundant high grade sand. No one was injured.

Mas Atje Purbawinata, chief of a local volcano monitoring
agency, said Merapi's level of activity was higher than that
recorded in November 1994 when it erupted, killing 68 and forcing
over 5,000 families to flee their homes.

The agency notified the Central Java and Yogyakarta governors
and regents of Magelang, Klaten and Boyolali of the mount's
alarming level of volcanic activity.

The volcano spewed hot "clouds" of ashes for five hours and
vomited burning lava for as far as five kilometers down the
slopes, Atje said.

Officials monitoring its activity recorded 33 seismic tremors
yesterday afternoon and saw burning lava streaming down the
mountain's southeast slope.

"The potential threat is greater than in 1994," Atje said. "We
have asked our personnel to report on every development."

Adding to the fear of possible eruption is the potential for a
massive landslide, due to heavy rains, of the cold lava that has
accumulated on the upper part of the volcano since 1994.

The mountain, among the world's most active, covered areas in
Boyolali with fine volcanic ashes, triggering panic in some
subdistricts.

A spokesman for the Boyolali regency government, Sugiyanto,
said the authorities managed to calm villagers down. People in
the area said they were ready for evacuation at any moment, he
added.

A crisis occurred in August last year when the mountain was
extraordinarily active and nearby residents were placed on
evacuation alert. However, this activity subsided.

The earliest recorded eruption of the mountain was in 1006,
when it destroyed the Hindu Mataram kingdom. In 1930, 1,369
people were killed and 26 villages buried. (pan/har/23)