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Lava flows down sides of Indonesian volcano

Lava streamed down the sides of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi on Tuesday, but the clouds of hot gas belching from the top were substantially smaller than the day before.
Clouds of deadly hot ash, rock fragments and volcanic gas surged down Mount Merapi's slopes Monday as activity at the towering mountain intensified to its highest level yet, officials and eyewitnesses said.
Clouds of deadly hot ash, rock fragments and volcanic gas surged down Mount Merapi's slopes Monday as activity at the towering mountain intensified to its highest level yet, officials and eyewitnesses said.Bayu Pamungkas / AP
/ Source: Reuters

Lava streamed down the sides of Indonesia’s mystical Mount Merapi on Tuesday, but the clouds of hot gas belching from the top were substantially smaller than the day before.

Around the base of the mountain some Indonesians consider sacred, thousands of residents went about their daily lives such as milking cows and collecting grass for feed despite warnings a major eruption could come soon.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on a visit to the threatened area, urged officials to be persistent in their efforts to move people away from the danger zone.

Vulcanologists said Merapi was in its final eruption phase and feared the possible collapse of a swelling lava dome at the top, which could trigger more massive and dangerous clouds and sprays of lava.

During its last eruption in 1994, most of the 70 deaths were caused by the outpouring of hot ash and other material following the collapse of a lava dome.

When, or if, this might happen again was uncertain, said Triyani, an official at the Center of Vulcanological Research and Technology Development in Yogyakarta near Mount Merapi.

“We cannot predict, because this mountain is unique,” she said of the nearly 10,000 feet conical-shaped volcano in the center of Java island.

Another vulcanologist from the Center, travelling with Yudhoyono, said: “At least for today it will not collapse.”

Fiery red lava flows could be seen in the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday, but they were close to the peak and did not threaten populated areas, while the clouds around the summit looked to be about half the size of Monday’s, Reuters witnesses said.

No ash falls were reported, unlike Monday when gray ash coated fields and houses near the mountain.

“By 6 a.m. this morning there were 11 hot clouds” that had erupted from the mountain, said Triyani.

She told Reuters by telephone that the biggest was 1.2 miles in length down the side of the mountain, while on Monday the cloud length had reached four kilometers.

In 1994, the clouds stretched 6 km before a deadly rain of material fell. The volcano killed 1,300 people in 1930.

Code red
At a search and rescue post near the mountain, Yudhoyono was briefed about evacuation efforts, disaster preparations, and the state of the volcano.

“Whatever happens, we are ready to face it. I have learned a lot from past disasters including the tsunami, and from that I can draw that if we conduct very good preparations ... there will be a lot that we can save,” Yudhoyono said.

Indonesia was the nation hardest hit by the December 2004 tsunami. Around 170,000 Indonesians were killed or missing.

It raised the alert status of Merapi on Saturday to the highest level, known as code red or danger status, and Yudhono said 16,000 people have been evacuated.

But many are reluctant to leave their homes and livelihoods and some who have left return during the day to tend livestock, collect grass, or otherwise carry on their daily routines.

“Today there’s only a small cloud, so it is okay. I’m not too afraid,” said Lestari, 36, as she emerged from a restricted area around the mountain on Tuesday with a sickle. She said she woke up at four in the morning to cut grass and feed it to her cows.

Slamet Suparno, 43, standing in a rice paddy about eight kilometers from Merapi’s crater, told Reuters: “Everything is fine here. ... I’m just going to start working.”

He said he was not afraid of the smoke from the volcano because so far it had not moved towards his village.

Vulcanologists say as the clouds emerge from the crater their temperature can approach 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit), although the heat drops rapidly once the gas shoots up into the air.

Merapi, about 280 miles east of Jakarta, is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Some villagers consider the volcano sacred. Yudhoyono said while the government respected the beliefs of people in the area, it also had the responsibility of saving lives.