People near Merapi told to prepare to evacuate

YOGYAKARTA (JP): People living in villages at the foot of Mount Merapi have been told to prepare themselves for evacuation after the volcano spewed lava and steam beginning early Sunday, a volcanologist said.

Head of Volcano Technology Development and Research (BPPTV) Syamsul Rizal said the 2,968-meter volcano began discharging lava around 10 minutes after midnight and continued to produce clouds of steam from 7.29 a.m. until late in the afternoon on Sunday.

The heat clouds, locally known as wedhus gembel (sheep) for their shape, drifted to the west as far as Kalisat village, some three kilometers away and were expelled with a frequency of between 10 and 20 minutes, Syamsul said.

"We cannot observe the peak at the moment due to thick fog. There are lava flows and heat clouds being expelled from vents in the peak," Syamsul told reporters in the Babadan monitoring post at Dukun village, Magelang, some four kilometers from the mount.

The steam clouds claimed more than 60 lives and forced more than 6,000 others to seek refuge in 1994.

Syamsul said the status could be raised to red alert or awas Merapi if the steam clouds extends five kilometers to six kilometers from the volcano with eruptions every three minutes.

"On that condition, heat clouds can reach the nearest village and people must be evacuated.

"So far we are waiting for further development. People, however, must be prepared for an evacuation," he said.

Merapi, situated in a densely-populated area at the border of Central Java and Yogyakarta, also erupted in November 1976, killing 28 people and leaving 1,176 people homeless.

The volcanology office stepped up the alert status in Central Java villages near Merapi to the second top danger level on Jan. 10 due to increasing volcanic activity.

Since Wednesday, the volcano has been declared off limits to climbers. Sand quarriers have also been asked to stop their activities and leave the quarry, which is located less than five kilometers from the crater.

"Fatal heat clouds can reach them within half minute," Syamsul said.

Volcanologists recognize four danger levels for a volcano: normal, beware, be prepared and alert. The alert status is declared when signs of an immediate eruption appear. (edt/swa)