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D-Day for Indonesian volcano?
13/02/2001 12:22 - (SA)
Jakarta - Lava and hot clouds continued to belch from the crater of
Indonesia's Mount Merapi on Tuesday, and vulcanologists said they
were maintaining their "imminent eruption" alert status for a
fourth day.
"Visually, Merapi was covered by fog this morning but the
seismograph shows that it's still spewing out lava and hot clouds,"
said vulcanologist Panut.
Speaking from the Kaliurang monitoring outpost on the southwest
slope of Mount Merapi, Panut said that at 8am (0100 GMT) Merapi
sent heat clouds and lava running 2.5km down
its slopes.
"Although it produced smaller amounts of lava and heat clouds today, the most dangerous day in the Javanese calendar, the danger level remains on alert," he told AFP.
Panut said many residents at the foot of Merapi had placed traditional incense offerings outside their homes despite the signs of cooling on Tuesday.
Tuesday "Kliwon" (February 13 in the Roman calendar) is a dangerous day in the traditional ancient Javanese calendar system - where certain days are auspicious and others dangerous.
Merapi has been rumbling ominously since Saturday, when hundreds of people were evacuated and authorities announced the top alert level - meaning an eruption was imminent - after Merapi belched heat clouds and lava that ran 6.5km down its
slopes.
Panut repeated warnings that a new build-up of millions of tons of lava inside the old Merapi crater still remained "a major concern".
An AFP photographer said non-governmental groups were distributing hundreds of surgical masks, medicine and rice to residents in the Srumbung area of Magelang district, where the fields are covered with white ash.
Most residents in Srumbung, a small sub-district approximately 11km southwest of Merapi, returned to their homes
and farms during the day but stayed at evacuation posts at night,
the photographer added.
The Sleman district, which faces the biggest danger from Merapi, had prepared 500 million rupiah ($52 000) to evacuate 12 000 residents should the need arise.
The Indonesian vulcanology office recognises four danger levels for a volcano - normal, beware, be prepared and alert (Awas) ? the last being the signal for an imminent eruption.
In 1997, heat clouds and ash rain prompted the evacuation of at least 18 000 people. When Merapi last erupted in 1994 at least 60 people were killed and more than 6 000 fled to safer ground.
Since 1930, Merapi eruptions have killed around 1 300 people. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA
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