Residents living around Mt. Merapi on red alert
Residents living around Mt. Merapi on red alert
SEMARANG (JP): Authorities raised the warning status Thursday
in areas closest to Mt. Merapi from "ready" to "alert", the
highest warning level, as Indonesia's most active volcano has
showed a significant increase in activity.
More than 200 people living near the Boyong River, considered
to be the most vulnerable area, have been ordered to evacuate
their homes.
The volcano has increased in activity over the past weeks. For
the last few days it has spewed hot clouds and hot ash across the
area surrounding the Boyong, Bebeng and Krasak rivers and more
than a thousand small earthquakes have been recorded at the top
of the volcano.
"The hot gas clouds are very dangerous and have erupted in a
three kilometer radius in the direction of the Boyong, Bebeng and
Krasak rivers. That is why Merapi's status has been upgraded to
'alert'," head of the Mount Merapi Section of the Directorate of
Volcanology Mas Atje Purbawinata told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
The "alert" warning means that residents of the danger zones
should evacuate their homes immediately.
Vulcanologists have predicted that Merapi will erupt soon.
The volcano last erupted in Nov. 1994, killing 70 people,
injuring more than 100 and causing significant damage to
surrounding areas.
Atje said his office had sent several warnings about the
possibility of the disaster to authorities in Yogyakarta and the
regencies of Sleman, Magelang, Boyolali and Klaten.
Sunarto, an official at the Kaliurang monitoring center, said
the evacuated residents are being sheltered at nearby Hargobangun
refuge posts, or moved at least three kilometers from their
homes.
Antara quoted volcanology director Wimpy S. Tjetjep as saying
in Yogyakarta yesterday that the "alert" status will hold until
after the next evaluation in one or two days.
Yesterday, the volcano was reported to have had a lull in its
activities, with only one gas eruption after dawn.
The decrease in activity did not necessarily mean the volcano
was not active. It was essential to analyze and measure the
frequency of the surface earthquakes and energy from the
mountain's center, he said.
The authorities are preparing medical facilities and
personnel, establishing communal kitchen and stocking up on food,
in case of emergency.
The 2,962-meter-high Merapi in the southern part of Central
Java is one of 127 volcanoes in Indonesia, which lies along what
is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. The mountain is one of the
most active volcanoes in the world. It has erupted several times
since 1970.
After the 1994 eruption, local government closed several areas
near Merapi for settlement. There are still up to 2,000 people
living in those danger areas. (har/ste)