Clouds of deadly hot ash, rock fragments and volcanic gas surged down Merapi's slopes yesterday, as activity at the towering mountain intensified to its highest level yet, officials and eyewitnesses said.
One of the eruptions sent an avalanche of debris and ash rolling almost 4km down the mountain's western flank, said Ratdomopurbo, the region's chief vulcanologist.
It was followed by several other huge explosions on the crater.
PHOTO: AFP
Some people who earlier refused to leave the danger zone fled yesterday in public minivans or trucks. Villages near the peak resembled ghost towns, with only a few young men to be seen. Houses, some dusted with ash, were deserted and shops closed.
"I am panicking this time," said Katimi, a mother of three who had taken refuge in a mosque earmarked as an evacuation point. "Merapi appears angry."
Scientists raised the alert status for Merapi on Saturday to the highest level after weeks of volcanic activity, and by Sunday more than 4,500 people living in villages closest to the crater or next to rivers that could provide paths for hot lava had been evacuated.
They are living in mosques, government buildings and schools.
Some 18,000 others who live lower down the slopes of the 3,000m mountain, which rises from the plains of Indonesia's densely populated Java, and were not considered to be in immediate danger as of late Sunday.
Police -- who said there were no reports of damage or injuries -- toured the danger zone yesterday, urging the last holdouts to leave.
But scores refused, saying they wanted to protect their land or livestock.
"This is nothing special," said 25-year-old Anto. "It all depends on how brave you are."
Merapi, which is one of 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, sent out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death when it last erupted in 1994. About 1,300 people died in a 1930 eruption.
The deadly clouds of ash, gas and debris, known to vulcanologists as pyroclastic flows, are the biggest worry for emergency services, said Sugiono, one of the scientists on a team monitoring the volcano 24 hours a day.
He said a glowing dome of lava being formed by magma forced to the surface was poised to collapse and could a trigger a surge in the clouds.
Locals call the clouds "Wed-hus Gembel," or "shaggy sheep clouds," because they resemble tightly curled balls of wool as they avalanche down the mountain at speeds of more than 100kph.
"If you get stuck in them, then you have no chance," Sugiono said.
Many mystic beliefs are associated with the mountain, and some Javanese also believe increased activity at Merapi is a sign of impending political upheaval.
On Sunday, holy men burned incense and floated offerings of rice, fruit and vegetables in a river that runs down the volcano's slopes -- a special ceremony they believe will ward off an eruption.
Although most Indonesians are Muslim, many also follow animist beliefs and worship ancient spirits, especially in central Java province. Often at full moons, they trek to crater rims and throw in rice, jewelry and live animals to appease the volcano.
"All the things we are doing here are to try to make us safe," said Assize Ashore, an Islamic preacher who also took part in the ceremony. "Only Allah knows if Merapi will explode."
The belief that a volatile Merapi foreshadows political instability dates back centuries.
It erupted in 1965 -- a year before an aborted coup that ushered in Indonesia's long-ruling dictator Suharto -- and activity also increased ahead of the 1997 Asian economic crisis.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese