Thousands flee volcano's wrath

2005-04-12 16:27

Mount Talang - A volcano spewed into life on Tuesday on Indonesia's disaster-blighted Sumatra Island, spreading new panic after the recent tsunami and earthquakes and driving thousands of people from their homes.

Mount Talang, 40km east of Sumatra's coastal Padang city, began pumping out volcanic ash shortly before dawn, prompting scientists to urge people to move away from the fall-out zone.

More than 20 000 people have been evacuated from the volcano's slope, Antara news agency quoted local official Bustamar saying.

It said the volcano's status had been raised to "beware", one rung below full-blown eruption.

Vulcanologist Gede Suwantika described Talang's activity as "serious", saying there was a risk of molten magma and clouds of super-heated gas that burned everything in their path.

"This is what I worry, that this activity will be followed by a larger eruption that is magmatic in nature," he said.

Road clogged with people

"Heat clouds could also descend, and this is what is risky as they can reach several kilometres" he said.

A photographer at the 2 599m volcano said a narrow road leading from the mountain was clogged by people deserting the area, which was shrouded in thick fog.

The volcano issued another outburst at 11:30, then another at 18:45, accompanied by a loud bang, according to a police spokesperson in Solok, 40km away. He said the situation was calm.

Elfi Sahlan Ben, an official in Solok, told the Detikcom news website that ash was being carried further down the slopes by wind and strong gaseous odours were permeating the air around the mountain.

The volcano's activity comes just two days after Padang was gripped with fear following a powerful 6.7 magnitude quake that caused only minor damage, but revived memories of last year's deadly Indian Ocean tsunami.

Many quit town, seeking refuge

On Monday, the city's offices and schools were deserted, with many people having left the town to seek refuge on higher ground, their unease fuelled by rumours and scientific reports of another impending disaster.

A massive earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Sumatra on March 28, killing more than 600 people on the offshore islands of Nias and Simeulue - most of the victims crushed by collapsing concrete structures.

On December 26 last year, a 9.3-magnitude shockwave from the same geological faultline unleashed tsunamis that destroyed vast tracts of coast in Sumatra's westernmost Aceh region and left more then 160 000 dead or missing.

- AFP