Java volcano could erupt, warns Indonesia

Indonesia raised the alert status of a massive volcano on Java Island to the second-highest level, warning increased activity at its crater means it could erupt anytime, a volcanologist said today.

Monitors have been watching Merapi closely for several weeks, and late yesterday raised its status to “Beware,” one notch below the highest level that requires immediate evacuation of villagers living on its slopes.

“An eruption could happen at any time,” said Heru Suparogo, from a monitoring station overlooking the crater of the 9,737ft mountain.

Suparogo said instruments in the crater had recorded an increase in quakes inside the mountain, which he said were a sign that an eruption was likely.

The mountain was also spewing smoke some 820 feet into the air – much higher than normal – another indication it might blow its top, he said.

Villagers living nearby have already been told to prepare for a possible evacuation.

Merapi is one of the most active of at least 129 volcanoes in Indonesia. The country is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” – a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Merapi’s last major eruption was in 1994, which killed at least 43 people.

It is about 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta.