Volcano alert status raised to maximum

Jakarta: Indonesia raised the alert status of the Mount Merapi volcano to the highest level yesterday, prompting a compulsory evacuation of thousands of residents living on the slopes, officials said.

"This morning we raised the status of Merapi to the top alert, which is the red code. Every resident has been ordered to evacuate," Subandrio, head of the Merapi section at the Centre for Volcanological Research and Technology Development, said.

Residents said they could see lava flowing and thick smoke rising from Merapi, one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" that has been rumbling for weeks.

"I could see the lava clearly from my home this morning. Then they ordered us to evacuate our village," said Anton, a 25-year-old resident of Boyong village, around 8 km from Merapi.

Despite the increased seismic activity and the lava which had flowed around 1.6 km from the volcano's crater, Subandrio could not say when the volcano was likely to erupt.

Dali, another vulcanologist, said the top alert meant that technically the mountain could erupt within the next 24 hours.

Merapi, which means "Mountain of Fire", lies near the ancient city of Yogyakarta.

Fast facts

Fiery mountain most active volcano

-- Gunung Merapi, or Fiery Mountain, located in central Java overlooking the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta, is the most active volcano in Indonesia.

-- Merapi has been witnessing small eruptions every two or three years, bigger ones every 10-15 years, and very large ones every 50-60 years.

-- The biggest eruptions occurred in 1006, 1786, 1822, 1872 and 1930. The eruption of 1006 was so bad an existing Hindu kingdom was apparently destroyed while in 1930 more than 1,300 people were killed.

-- The 1994 eruption claimed more than 60 lives, but the 3,000-metre volcano is considered sacred by local people who believe a supernatural kingdom exists atop Merapi. Every year a priest climbs to the top to make an offering.

-- Indonesia has the world's highest density of volcanoes and is located in the so-called 'Ring of Fire', a vast zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions looping around the Pacific Ocean and including Japan. Of these volcanoes, 128 are active and 65 listed as dangerous.

Sources: Reuters; www.usgs.gov