Thousands clear out as volcano spews ash
Source: Agencies |
November 1, 2010, Monday
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THOUSANDS of evacuees who risked a trip home near a deadly Indonesian volcano fled in panic as the mountain spewed more searing ash clouds yesterday, while rescuers finally resumed aid to tsunami victims in the country's other unfolding disaster.
The number of people killed in the twin catastrophes climbed to almost 500 yesterday, as dozens more bodies were found in the tsunami-ravaged Mentawai islands.
Blaring sirens
Indonesia, a vast island nation of 235 million people, is prone to earthquakes and eruptions because it straddles a series of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire."
Warning sirens blared, and people sprinted down the slopes of Mount Merapi or sped off in cars and trucks while others who had returned amid a brief lull to check on their livestock jumped into rivers hoping to protect themselves when the volcano erupted, disaster official Rusdiyanto said.
No new casualties were immediately reported in the latest eruption, which sent massive clouds of ash down the less-populated southern and eastern slopes, an official said. The volcano has killed 38 people since it began erupting last Tuesday.
Authorities have been frustrated that many of the more than 53,000 evacuated since the eruptions began keep going back during daylight hours, ignoring warnings of the danger. More than 2,000 soldiers had to be called in on Saturday to force men, women and children to leave.
Residents of the once-fertile slopes of Merapi, which means Fire Mountain, say they're just trying to salvage something of their lives.
"My farm has been destroyed by volcanic debris and thick dust... All I have left now are my cows and goats," said Subarkah, who lives less than 3 kilometers from the peak. "I have to find grass and bring it up to them, otherwise they'll die."
The 46-minute eruption yesterday shot dust about 2 kilometers into the air and a cloud of hot ash about 1 kilometer down Merapi's eastern and southern slopes, said Surono, chief of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
"There should be no casualties from the new eruption because the flow of hot ash is lower and far from populated areas," Surono said.
The number of people killed in the twin catastrophes climbed to almost 500 yesterday, as dozens more bodies were found in the tsunami-ravaged Mentawai islands.
Blaring sirens
Indonesia, a vast island nation of 235 million people, is prone to earthquakes and eruptions because it straddles a series of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire."
Warning sirens blared, and people sprinted down the slopes of Mount Merapi or sped off in cars and trucks while others who had returned amid a brief lull to check on their livestock jumped into rivers hoping to protect themselves when the volcano erupted, disaster official Rusdiyanto said.
No new casualties were immediately reported in the latest eruption, which sent massive clouds of ash down the less-populated southern and eastern slopes, an official said. The volcano has killed 38 people since it began erupting last Tuesday.
Authorities have been frustrated that many of the more than 53,000 evacuated since the eruptions began keep going back during daylight hours, ignoring warnings of the danger. More than 2,000 soldiers had to be called in on Saturday to force men, women and children to leave.
Residents of the once-fertile slopes of Merapi, which means Fire Mountain, say they're just trying to salvage something of their lives.
"My farm has been destroyed by volcanic debris and thick dust... All I have left now are my cows and goats," said Subarkah, who lives less than 3 kilometers from the peak. "I have to find grass and bring it up to them, otherwise they'll die."
The 46-minute eruption yesterday shot dust about 2 kilometers into the air and a cloud of hot ash about 1 kilometer down Merapi's eastern and southern slopes, said Surono, chief of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
"There should be no casualties from the new eruption because the flow of hot ash is lower and far from populated areas," Surono said.
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