Mt. Merapi spews lava

Mt. Merapi spews lava

YOGYAKARTA: Mount Merapi showed increased activity yesterday,
spewing hot lava in a radius of 1.5 kilometers from its cone.

Despite the rumblings, the daily activities of people living
in villages at the foot of the volcano were unaffected.

Ratdomo Purbo, chief of the volcanic section at the
Vulcanologist Directorate, said his office was continually
monitoring the volcano, one of Indonesia's most active, since it
had shown greater signs of life.

"In our last monitoring, we observed that a major landslide
had occurred on the mountain's top and we expect it to continue
to discharge hot lava," he said.

He said a number of small tremors had jolted surrounding areas
as well. (23/44)