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Residents near Indonesia volcano urged to evacuate

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 April 2006, 03:27 CDT

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Many villagers living near a tremoring Indonesian volcano have ignored calls to evacuate and officials said on Tuesday local governments must be vigilant in prepare for the worst.

Authorities have placed Mount Merapi, which overlooks the ancient city of Yogyakarta, on Orange Code, or the second highest alert level, following fears of an eruption due to an increase in the number of tremors.

"We have tried to make people understand that danger is lurking and up until today we are still trying to persuade them. However, they seem to feel comfortable with it," said Triyani, an official in charge of observing Merapi at the state-run Center for Volcano Research and Technology Development in Yogyakarta.

"We have advised local governments around Merapi to take all the needed action to mitigate possible disaster from volcanic eruption," she said.

Triyani added the complacency stems from residents who have not felt significant jolts, and the fact that the volcano's swelling in places, a sign an eruption may come soon, is not visible yet to the naked eye.

Subandriyo, head of the center's Merapi department, said officials are trying to figure out the directions in which materials will spew and spread if an eruption occurs.

"At the moment, we are at the conclusion that Merapi's activities are increasing and may possibly lead to eruption," Indonesia's national news agency Antara quoted him as saying.

Officials said the military had deployed more than 200 trucks and buses to evacuate villagers living on the slopes of Merapi near Yogyakarta, 460 km (285 miles) west of the capital, Jakarta.

Mount Merapi's increased volcanic activity prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order preparations for evacuation.

Merapi's last major eruption was in 1994 when more than 60 people were killed. One of its most destructive eruptions was in 1930, when 1,300 people were killed.

Indonesia sits astride the geologically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" and has more than 100 active volcanoes.

Many Indonesians see activity in Mount Merapi in the mystical heartland of Java as an omen of a looming political eruption.

Thousands of villagers were evacuated in January 1997 when Merapi became more active, just months before the Asian financial crisis struck.

Most Javanese, who make up the bulk of Indonesia's 220 million people, are Muslim, but many cling to a spiritual past and believe a supernatural kingdom exists on top of Merapi.

Source: REUTERS

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