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)