PURWOBINANGUN, Indonesia (AFP) - – Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano exploded in a frightening new eruption of lava and red-hot rocks on Wednesday, sparking panic and forcing the government to order new evacuations.
Scientists said the 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) mountain in central Java erupted with more force than last week's blasts that killed 36 people, spewing huge clouds of searing gas into the sky.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had visited some of the 75,000 evacuees in shelters near the fuming peak earlier Wednesday, but it was not clear if he was still in the area when the latest full-scale eruption began.
Witnesses said a huge grey cloud of ash and hot gas shot high above the mountain and tumbled down its slopes in a deadly avalanche.
Locals who have grown used to seeing the volcano belch gas and ash over the past eight days jumped on motorcycles and fled for their lives.
"Hundreds of people fled in panic from the refugee shelter in Glagaharjo, 10 kilometres from the peak," relief worker Anwar told AFP.
"There was extraordinary chaos and panic. The refugees cried and screamed hysterically, and some fainted."
Witnesses said two huge explosions shook the surrounding countryside.
"They were the biggest heat clouds I've seen since I was posted here last week," relief worker Sulih Putra said.
"I was actually panicking but I tried not to be because I didn't want the refugees to panic too."
Government volcanologist Surono said: "It's the biggest eruption and it's been happening for almost two hours, since 2:27 pm (0727 GMT)."
"This is the most extraordinary, the biggest," he added, referring to eruptions on October 26 and 30.
Officials expanded the danger zone around Mount Merapi and ordered people living closer than 15 kilometres (10 miles) to evacuate, while some international flights to and from the area have been cancelled.
"We've decided to widen the danger zone to 15 kilometres, the refugee camps must be moved outside the zone," Surono said.
The previous exclusion zone radiated 10 kilometres from the volcano. Around 75,000 people have evacuated the area since last Tuesday, when Merapi started its latest series of eruptions.
Heat clouds seethed from the crater early Wednesday morning as Yudhoyono visited refugees and repeated scientists' warnings that further eruptions were likely over the coming weeks.
"There will be more eruptions from Merapi, albeit small ones. If the conditions are safe you will be able to return to your homes," he told residents of one temporary shelter in Sleman district, near Yogyakarta.
He asked evacuees to be patient and promised government assistance to rebuild their communities once the all-clear is given for their return.
Evacuees said they were bored in the shelters and expressed concern for their livestock on the mountain's slopes, which represent the life savings of many of the region's poor farmers.
"My cows are still in my village so I have no option but to occasionally return. There should be a shelter for cows here in the safe area so people don't have to go back," herdsman Basuki, 39, said.
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia said about 8,000 people scheduled to depart from Solo airport to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage now had to leave from Surabaya due to the volcanic activity.
The disaster-prone Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines from the Indian to the Pacific oceans.
In the Mentawai island chain 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) to the west of Mount Merapi, more than 400 people were killed when a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake slammed into coastal villages on October 25.
About 15,000 people were made homeless in that disaster, which scientists said was directly related to the 2004 Asian tsunami, also created by an earthquake off the Sumatran coast.
Officials said bad weather was hampering operations to bring aid supplies to the isolated islands.
"More than 10 ships and helicopters from the military and the police have been dispatched but the bad weather has prevented them from regularly distributing food and medical supplies," a disaster response official said.
Meanwhile concerns were raised for three New Zealand yachtsmen who have not been heard from since the tsunami. They were believed to be sailing towards the Mentawais on the night the three-metre wave struck.
After reading this article, i felt that sometimes natural disaster cannot be avoided. In this case, although there were no death reported, many were made evacuated from their homes to become refugees. I believed this had brought many inconvenience and lost to the villages.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, a tsunami attack that happened recently on 25 October had made many homeless and even killed.Although it is a natural disaster, I can't help but feel sad for the people living in Indonesia.
I feel that being able to live in Singapore with no such disaster is really fortunate for us and we should be glad and blessed. I hoped that in future perhaps more advance technology in future can be made so that when disaster like these happened, consequences would not be so severe and caused people to be homeless and even death.
-REBECCA
I think the recent natural disaster in Indonesia was one of the greatest destruction ever. However, an even more serious issue that we should be concerned about is the way authorities dealt with this matter. As natural disasters like the tsunami, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions could not be avoided, I believed that good preparation could reduce the sufferings and damages.
ReplyDeleteIndonesia needs to improve their emergency response network and also upgrade their early warning systems. Not only that, they also have to ensure that it operates well by having some simple evacuation exercises. The villagers also should learn their lesson and move away from the vulnerable coastal and volcanic areas. At the same time government could find them proper areas where they could make a living.
All these efforts could have made a significant change in the deaths toll and destructions. I hope that the technology would be upgraded and involved parties would work together to resolve this issue.
Natural disasters as we know it, can strike at anytime, anywhere. When this happen, there will be no doubt that blood will be shed, lives will be lost, home will be destroy.
ReplyDeleteAs from the above article, when the eruption occurred, there was chaos everywhere. People begin to scream and panic, worrying only for the safety of themselves and their loves one.
Whereas in the tsunami disaster, 400 were killed, many were left homeless. People have to rely on the supplies bought to them by the police and nothing else.
In such cases, we as fellow Singaporean should understand how lucky we truly are to be free of all these natural disasters. However, we can still play a part to support countries who have been hit by these disasters in order to make the world a better place.
When I came across this article, I feel sad for those people that had lost their life in this volcano eruption. The residents in Indonesia also have to flee to a safe place. At the same time, their houses have also been destroyed by the volcano eruption. Indonesia have quite a lot of active volcano, therefore it is a sad thing to see people die because they could not escape from the volcano eruption. Natural disaster could happen suddenly without anyone knowing. Thus, it is scary to live in a place that is near to the volcano.
ReplyDeleteAfter the volcano eruption, a tsunami was also triggered by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra. After this natural disaster, more than 400 people were killed! Indonesia's Mount Merapi have also erupted for the fourth time in eight days. Indonesia's Volcanologist have also warn that volcano could erupt for months!
After knowing about this incident, I feel that we should really be glad to be able to live in Singapore. At least we do not have to worry or feel insecure about when a natural might happen. I hope that the neighbouring countries could lend Indonesia a helping hand by sending clothes and rations to the refugees.
After reading the article, I had a sense of sympathy for the Indonesians over there, Firstly, they suffered from a magnitude 7.7 earthquake which resulted in a tsunami. 400 people ended up dead. Secondly, just as they thought that everything was starting to improve, they were dealt with another hardship when the volcano erupted earlier than they had expected. It is saddening to hear that many had to evacuate from their houses, This led to many becoming refugees.
ReplyDeleteI feel that we, as Singaporeans living in Singapore, are very fortunate to be able to lead our lives without being easily threatened by natural disasters. Therefore, we should always cherish what we have now. As Singaporeans, we can also lend a helping hand to those suffering due to the eruption. Singaporeans can start by raising a sum of money for the Indonesian government to build houses for the homeless refugees and also to improve the necessary facilities over there. Singapore can also send their navy officers to help look for those missing yachtsmen out in the sea. After all, it will not cause a huge impact on Singapore to help neighbouring countries, It benefits Singapore because it helps to improve the friendship bond and also, Singapore may also need help from Indonesia in future.
For Indonesia, I feel that the government should also help to keep its citizens’ animals safe from the eruption. This is because these animals may often be their only source of income. Therefore, without their animals, they may starve. The government should also start raising funds to build houses, If there is a need to, they can loan the money from World Bank,