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Mount Merapi (Indonesia): Indonesia's most volatile volcano today erupted after scientists warned that pressure building beneath its dome could trigger the most powerful explosion in years. At least 18 people were killed, including a two-month-old baby, according to doctors and media reports. Smoke poured out of Mount Merapi, obscuring its cone, according to footage from the private station, Metro TV. Police and volunteers were shown carrying ash-covered corpses, some wrapped in blankets and yellow body bags, to waiting vehicles. Thousands of villagers started streaming off the 9,737-foot-(2,968-meter-) high mountain as darkness fell today, crowding into makeshift emergency shelters with straw sleeping mats and bags of clothes and food.
Earlier, many had refused to budge, saying they wanted to tend to crops along volcano's fertile slopes and protect their homes against looters. While there are fears the current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in the coming
weeks or months, Gede Swantika, a government vulcanologist sid the mountain appeared to be releasing some pressure
building up beneath the lava dome. 'It's too early to know for sure,' he said, adding a big blast could still be coming. 'But if it continues like this for a while, we are looking at a slow, long eruption.' As they contended with the volcano, Indonesian
officials were also trying to assess the impact of yesterday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, about 1,300
kms from Merapi. The temblor caused a tsunami that left hundreds dead or missing on a string of remote islands.
Subandriyo, the chief of vulcanologist monitoring Merapi from a nearby observation post, said the eruption began just before dusk. A 15-minute thunderous rumble was followed by a huge burst of searing ash that shot hundreds of yards nto the air.
Officials earlier said, by closely monitoring the volcano, which lies on the main island of Java, some 500 km southeast of the capital Jakarta, they hoped to avoid cusalities. But the death toll was quickly climbing. An infant died when a mother ran in anic after the eruption started, said Mareta, a hospital worker who goes by oly one name.
Three people at Panti Nugroho hospital succumbed to ad burns after being hit by a searing cloud of ash, said Agustinus Parjo, a spokesman. News portal Detik.com reported 14 other bodies were found in several houses in a mountainside village. It cited an official who visited the site. (AP)
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weeks or months, Gede Swantika, a government vulcanologist sid the mountain appeared to be releasing some pressure
building up beneath the lava dome. 'It's too early to know for sure,' he said, adding a big blast could still be coming. 'But if it continues like this for a while, we are looking at a slow, long eruption.' As they contended with the volcano, Indonesian
officials were also trying to assess the impact of yesterday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, about 1,300
kms from Merapi. The temblor caused a tsunami that left hundreds dead or missing on a string of remote islands.
Subandriyo, the chief of vulcanologist monitoring Merapi from a nearby observation post, said the eruption began just before dusk. A 15-minute thunderous rumble was followed by a huge burst of searing ash that shot hundreds of yards nto the air.
Officials earlier said, by closely monitoring the volcano, which lies on the main island of Java, some 500 km southeast of the capital Jakarta, they hoped to avoid cusalities. But the death toll was quickly climbing. An infant died when a mother ran in anic after the eruption started, said Mareta, a hospital worker who goes by oly one name.
Three people at Panti Nugroho hospital succumbed to ad burns after being hit by a searing cloud of ash, said Agustinus Parjo, a spokesman. News portal Detik.com reported 14 other bodies were found in several houses in a mountainside village. It cited an official who visited the site. (AP)
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