Fears volcano close to erupting
Mount Merapi has seen increased volcanic activity over the past week and officials have raised the alert level for the 9,737 foot (2,968-meter) high mountain to the most urgent level, said government volcanologist Surono.
The mountain last erupted in 2006, when it sent an avalanche of blistering gases and rock fragments racing down the mountain that killed two people. A similar eruption in 1994 killed 60 people, while 1,300 people died in a 1930 eruption.
Sri Purnomo, the head of Sleman district on Java island, where Mount Merapi is located, said officials were warning some 11,400 villagers living on the mountain’s southern slope to prepare for “urgent evacuation”. About 40,000 people live close to the mountain.
Purnomo said camps to take in the evacuees were set up at government buildings and sports fields more than six miles (10km) away.
Hundreds of elderly people and children have been moved from villages near the slopes of Mount Merapi to Umbulharjo village, where they are being placed in government buildings and tents prepared by local officials.
Ponco Sumarto and her two grandchildren were among about 100 villagers who arrived yesterday at a refugee camp in Umbulhardjo.
“I just have to follow orders to take shelter here for safety, even though I’d rather like to stay at home,” 65-year-old Sumarto said. She said her children stayed at home to take care of their livestock and crops.
Meanwhile, a major quake of 7.5 magnitude struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, yesterday, the US Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a local tsunami watch was in effect but a wider tsunami threat was not seen.
