Watch Mt. Merapi

Watch Mt. Merapi

Mount Merapi, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes located
in the very heart of Java, is once again going through one of its
periodic spasms. This time, though, it looks as if the danger
might be for real.

On Saturday morning, the flow of hot lava and clouds which for
days had awed thousands of tourists in nearby Yogyakarta during
the night, began taking on a more ominous appearance, flowing
down the mountain's slope for a distance of seven kilometers.

As clouds of steam and dust billowed from Merapi's crater some
five kilometers high into the sky, volcanic ash began falling on
towns, cities and villages in the surrounding area.

Although volcanologists stress that this is not yet officially
an eruption, Merapi's warning signals nevertheless sent officials
scurrying to prepare trucks and other equipment while ordering
thousands of villagers to leave the mountainside, fearful of a
repeat of the 1930 eruption in which at least 1,300 people
perished.

But as in any disaster like a volcanic eruption, which can be
expected to happen at any time now in the Merapi area, saving
human lives is but one aspect of disaster relief.

Given these early warning signals and considering the relief
problems that have plagued so many cases in this country in the
past, there appears to be no excuse this time, should the relief
efforts be bungled, as has happened elsewhere in this country so
many times before.

Food, medication and shelter must be prepared in case the
worst fears are realized. Clothing and any other relief material
that donors may send to the area must get to those who need them.

The attachment of Java's rural population to the soil on which
they live and work is well known. Past efforts to resettle people
who live in the shadow of active volcanoes have not always been
successful, as many of them tend to return to their native soil.

This, too, constitutes a problem that must be solved to the
satisfaction of everyone concerned: while resettlement may not be
an option, some kind of settlement which ensures the safety of
the population needs to be found.

At present, considering the swift response of the authorities
concerned, at least some good progress in this direction appears
to have been made over the years. No doubt the lessons of past
eruptions have been well learned.

An eruption of Mount Merapi on the scale of the 1930 one, or
worse, could have severe consequences for some of Java's millions
of inhabitants.

There is, however, one peculiar aspect in the case of Mount
Merapi that the authorities and observers alike may well find
worth observing.

The volcano is considered by many -- at least by thousands of
locals living in the Yogyakarta area -- to be of special
significance. The mountain is located in a straight line running
from the Indian Ocean, which is the abode of the goddess of the
"South Sea" (i.e. Indian Ocean) through the kraton (royal court)
of Njai Roro Kidul and straight toward Merapi. As in Bali, the
mountain and the sea hold a special significance for many people
in the heartland of Java.

Many people in the area believe that Merapi's current activity
is somehow related to the present political upheavals in this
country and an eruption could be a forewarning of a culmination
of the crisis.

Whether or not one personally believes in such a theory is of
course beside the point. The important thing is that there are
many people who do. Hopefully, though, this will not add to the
complications already facing the nation.