Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupts again, danger zone expands

[News_Editor]

Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupts again, danger zone expands

2010-11-03 21:17:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

JOGJAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesia's Mount Merapi on Wednesday erupted again with more force than last week's blasts, spewing out hot ash, lava, and burning rocks up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) into the sky for over an hour.

Authorities expanded Merapi's danger zone to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), which is beginning to reach areas not yet evacuated as well as refugee camps.

"This is the first time that the eruption has continued for more than an hour, so I decided to move the shelters to 15 kilometers away from the summit from 10 km away previously," government vulcanologist Surono said. "This is an extraordinary eruption, triple from the first eruption."

No new casualties were reported as national military forces work to evacuate residents within the dangers zone. "We have moved the shelters 15 kilometers away, but I hope the hot clouds will not reach 10 kilometers from the crater," Surono stated.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had visited the area and several shelters on Wednesday.

On Saturday morning, at around 1 a.m. local time, Merapi erupted for around 22 minutes sending heat clouds over the Krasak and Boyong rivers.

Sri Sumarti of the volcanic center said Saturday's eruption shot heat clouds around 3.5 kilometers into the air, compared to the initial eruption's clouds which reached 1.5 kilometers. This had been Merapi's strongest until Wednesday's.

Mount Merapi first erupted last week when three loud explosions rocked the mountain, spewing volcanic ashes into the sky. A day earlier, scientists had raised the alert level to its highest level after white clouds of smoke began pouring out of the mountain, signaling an imminent eruption.

The latest death toll has reached 38 - most of them killed during the initial eruption - while camps have reportedly reached 70,000 evacuees. Officials have maintained an exclusion zone of about six miles around the volcano while it is being monitored.

The last notable eruption occurred in 2006, when several people were killed. Before that, major eruptions took place in 1006, 1786, 1822, 1872, and 1930. The 1930 eruption left at least 1,400 people killed.

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