Volcanic alert mechanism found lacking: Official

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A government official admitted yesterday that Indonesia needs to develop a more effective method of alerting people to imminent volcano eruptions.

R. Sukhyar, the chief of the Volcano Analysis division at the Directorate of Volcanology, said methods are no longer effective in warning people living on or near active volcanoes.

"Maybe some self-introspection is needed here," Sukhyar said at the end of a two-day workshop reviewing 10 years of Franco- Indonesian cooperation in volcanology technology.

Referring to last year's eruption of Mt. Merapi which took 66 lives, he said, "Our information should have been clearer ... The report we conveyed was not taken as a warning."

The last piece of information communicated by the authorities before the Nov. 22 eruption was about rocks falling into the Boyong River, which is to the south of Mt. Merapi.

It turned out the people did not react to the information because rocks had fallen before without harmful consequences.

Sukhyar added that the authorities were probably not fully aware of the dangers because every eruption followed different patterns.

Volcano monitoring agencies and the local administration also need to improve their understanding of the various stages of volcanic eruptions, he said.

Mt. Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, will be the focus of another international workshop here bringing together volcanologists from all over the world.

The workshop will run from today until Monday and will include an expedition to the volcano.

Titled "Merapi International Decade," the discussions will evaluate studies about the volcano and list what still remains mysterious, Sukhyar said.

The title refers to the United Nation's International Decade of Natural Disasters Reduction, launched in 1990. Mt. Merapi is listed as one of the sources of volcanic disasters by the International Association of Volcano and Earth Chemistry Interior.

The meeting is expected to result in recommendations for further steps to alert people of volcanic activities.

Mt. Merapi has characteristics similar to other volcanoes such as Mt. Colima in Mexico and Mt. Unzen in Japan, Sukhyar said.

He added that other volcanoes listed by the Association include the Vesuvius in Italy, Taal in the Philippines and Ranier in the United States.

Seventy delegates from 15 countries are taking part in the workshop. (anr)