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Villagers go back to volcano
18/05/2006 12:48 - (SA)
Mount Merapi - Indonesia's Mount Merapi appeared calm again on Thursday as hundreds of evacuees drifted back home, unconvinced they were in danger from the volcano.
On Wednesday, one of the clouds of hot gas and ash known here as "shaggy goats" tumbled 4km down Merapi's slopes, the furthest since Monday when it recorded its highest level of recent activity.
Authorities declared Merapi in danger of imminent eruption last Saturday, triggering the evacuation of thousands of people.
Data from the vulcanology office in Yogyakarta, 30km south of the simmering volcano, recorded eight of the potentially deadly clouds between midnight and 06:00.
Seven sped along the Krasak river bed towards a sparsely populated area but only reached a maximum 1.5km, while one travelled along the Gendol river for one kilometre and caused no harm, the data showed.
Seventeen clouds were recorded on Wednesday.
During the first six hours on Thursday, 44 lava falls were registered, compared to 180 for all day Wednesday when smoke also soared from the volcano 400m into the sky.
Scientists have said this kind of activity could continue for weeks.
In one settlement in the declared danger zone, life appeared back to normal on Thursday, with men, women and children trudging higher up the volcano's slopes to harvest chillies and tend to their corn and rice crops.
"For us, it is normal. We are used to this. Every year there must be some ash blowing this way," said one of the villagers, Sarianti.
The hamlet was covered in a thin layer of ash on Wednesday blown across from the heat clouds.
Official data showed that nearly 1 400 people had left temporary shelters to return home and fend for themselves, leaving just over 20 770 in camps or receiving aid and being tracked by authorities.
- AFP
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