Thousands flee volcano in Indonesia

Around 30,000 people were today fleeing their homes after a warning that one of Indonesia’s most deadly volcanos was poised to erupt.

Mount Kelud, which has been rumbling for weeks, was placed on the highest alert level meaning scientists believe a major eruption is imminent.

All villages within six miles of the peak were ordered to evacuate.

The 5,679ft Mount Kelud is one of the most active volcanoes in the world’s largest archipelagic nation. It last erupted in 1990, destroying a hundred villages and killing 5,160 people.

The mountain is on Java island about 385 miles east of the capital, Jakarta.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Evacuation orders at Indonesian volcanoes are often patchily enforced.

Without compensating farmers for loses to crops or livestock, the government finds it difficult to force them to leave their villages.