Merapi puts on a show

Merapi puts on a show
Obstinate residents refuse to evacuate.

Published Thursday, June 8, 2006

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia’s most dangerous volcano spewed a spectacular roiling cloud of hot gas and ash down its southern slope today, sending more than 15,000 villagers running to safety or piling into cars and trucks, scientists said.

"I only had time to gather clothes for my children," said a villager named Sartini, 24, who jumped into a river to escape the searing heat.

Mount Merapi has been venting steam and ash for weeks, but the morning burst was the largest yet, with billowing, dark gray clouds avalanching 3½ miles down its slopes, said Sugiono, a vulcanologist who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

It was one of a series of powerful explosions early today, but hundreds of villagers living on the mountainside were still refusing to leave.

"Of course, we’re worried," a villager named Supriatun told The Associated Press by mobile phone. "But as long as the hot clouds do not reach us, we won’t leave our village."

Some scientists say a powerful May 27 earthquake that killed more than 5,700 people in an area 25 miles south of Mount Merapi might have contributed to the volcano’s volatility in recent weeks.

The rumbling mountain’s lava dome has swelled, raising concerns that it could suddenly collapse and send scalding clouds of fast-moving gas, lava and rocks into areas yet to be evacuated.

Yousana Siagian, a senior official at the government’s Vulcanology and Disaster Mitigation Center, said a shallow 4.2-magnitude aftershock today 17 miles south of the peak might have speeded things along.

Sirens wailed, and farmers carrying heaps of grass on their head ran down the mountain as others clambered onto motorcycles. Women clutched children as they jumped into trucks and cars heading to base, wiping away tears when they reached emergency shelters.

"We saw the hot cloud spilling down the mountain and ran as fast as we could," said Udi Sutrisno, a father of five, who was among hundreds of people seeking refuge at a makeshift camp dotted with Red Cross tents.

Sutomo, a government official at the scene, said 3,500 people had fled Sleman district on Merapi’s southern side. Another 12,000 fled their villages in Magelang district on the west.

Authorities earlier urged residents to evacuate the danger zone on the mountain’s fertile slopes. Some 20,000 left, but thousands more stayed in their homes, saying they didn’t want to abandon their fields and livestock and complaining of boredom at the shelters.

Others who have camped out for weeks in schools, mosques and government buildings said they would stay as long as necessary.

"A hot gas cloud is one of our worst nightmares," said Teguh Rahardjo, 64, recalling how a large eruption in 1994 killed 60 people and decimated houses, fields and animals. About 1,300 people were killed when Merapi erupted in 1930.