Volcano flares up in Indonesia
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
INDONESIA'S most volatile volcano erupted yesterday, after scientists warned that pressure building beneath its dome could trigger the most powerful eruption in years. A two-month old baby reportedly died as panicked villagers fled the area.
Up to 20 people were injured by hot ash spewed from Mount Merapi, said an AP reporter who witnessed them being taken away for treatment.
Some 11,400 villagers who live on the 2,968-meter-high mountain were urged to evacuate, but only those within 7 kilometers of the crater were forced by authorities to do so. Most of those who fled were the elderly and children. Some adults said they decided to stay to tend to homes and farms on the fertile slopes.
There are fears that the current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in the coming weeks or months, though it is possible, too, that the volcano will settle back down after a slow, long period of letting off steam.
Private MetroTV said the baby died when a mother ran in panic after the eruption started. Its report cited a local doctor and showed the mother weeping as the baby was covered with a white blanket at a hospital. The report did not make clear if it was a boy or girl.
Subandriyo, the chief vulcanologist in the area, said the eruption started just before dusk. The volcano had rumbled and groaned for hours.
"There was a thunderous rumble that went on for ages, maybe 15 minutes," said Sukamto, a farmer who by nightfall had yet to abandon his home on the slopes. "Then huge plumes of hot ash started shooting up into the air."
Scientists have warned the pressure building beneath the dome could presage one of the biggest eruptions in years at Merapi. The alert level for Merapi has been raised to its highest level.
In 2006, an avalanche of blistering gases and rock fragments raced down the volcano and killed two people. A similar eruption in 1994 killed 60 people, and 1,300 people died in a 1930 blast.
Up to 20 people were injured by hot ash spewed from Mount Merapi, said an AP reporter who witnessed them being taken away for treatment.
Some 11,400 villagers who live on the 2,968-meter-high mountain were urged to evacuate, but only those within 7 kilometers of the crater were forced by authorities to do so. Most of those who fled were the elderly and children. Some adults said they decided to stay to tend to homes and farms on the fertile slopes.
There are fears that the current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in the coming weeks or months, though it is possible, too, that the volcano will settle back down after a slow, long period of letting off steam.
Private MetroTV said the baby died when a mother ran in panic after the eruption started. Its report cited a local doctor and showed the mother weeping as the baby was covered with a white blanket at a hospital. The report did not make clear if it was a boy or girl.
Subandriyo, the chief vulcanologist in the area, said the eruption started just before dusk. The volcano had rumbled and groaned for hours.
"There was a thunderous rumble that went on for ages, maybe 15 minutes," said Sukamto, a farmer who by nightfall had yet to abandon his home on the slopes. "Then huge plumes of hot ash started shooting up into the air."
Scientists have warned the pressure building beneath the dome could presage one of the biggest eruptions in years at Merapi. The alert level for Merapi has been raised to its highest level.
In 2006, an avalanche of blistering gases and rock fragments raced down the volcano and killed two people. A similar eruption in 1994 killed 60 people, and 1,300 people died in a 1930 blast.
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