Slamet Susanto and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Bandung | Tue, 10/26/2010 9:40 AM
Authorities warned Monday that the country’s most active volcano Merapi in Yogyakarta could erupt at any time, prompting calls for the evacuation of thousands of villagers living on the mountain’s slopes.
The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) chief Surono said the mountain’s status was raised to top alert on Monday morning.
The new status, which has been reported to the President, means that an eruption is imminent and affected persons still living in the danger zones should be immediately evacuated, he added.
“The volcano’s status was raised to respond to the increasing activity. We don’t want to make any mistakes,” he said Monday.
Vice President Boediono will visit Mount Merapi on Tuesday to check on evacuation preparations should the volcano erupt, Coordinating Minister for Public Welfare Agung Laksono said in Jakarta on Monday.
The mountain last erupted in 2006, when it sent an avalanche of blistering gases and rock fragments racing down the mountain that killed two people.
A similar eruption in 1994 killed 60 people, while 1,300 people died in an eruption in 1930.
Surono said that based on observations conducted by 15 vulcanologists, the mountain’s activity had tripled compared to the previous eruptions in 1997, 2001 and 2006.
On Thursday, he said 40 earthquakes were recorded but this doubled to 80 quakes in the following days.
Observation by Electric Distance Measurement using a reflector placed on Merapi’s peak showed deformation on the scale of 10.5 centimeters a day by Thursday increasing to 42 centimeters a day by Sunday.
Chief of the Volcanic Technology Development and Research (BPPTK) Yogyakarta, Subandrio, said that since it was showing increasing activity, the volcano’s deformation has reached 1.7 meter and the energy to be released could pose a serious threat.
He predicted the amount of material thrown up by an eruption could be higher than the 14 million cubic meters thrown up in 2006.
“We need to evacuate residents living in dangerous zones, mainly those living along the river, which flows from Merapi,” Subandrio said.
Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo has instructed residents within 10 kilometers of the Merapi’s peak to move to makeshift shelters. The evacuation has started at Kepuharjo village in Cangkringan district, Sleman regency.
The regency administration estimated there are 12,000 residents in three districts, to be evacuated.
The total number of displaced persons would total up to 40,000 people, including residents from different regencies including Klaten, Boyolali and Magelang .
Despite the looming threat from the volcano, many locals said they prefer to say. “We see no sign that Merapi will erupt,” said Sukamto, a resident of Cangkringan.
Another resident, Bejo, was still selling food and beverage at a camping site near Kaliadem area, which was previously flattened by Merapi’s wedhus gembel, which means shaggy sheep (the local Javanese expression for pyroclastic clouds), back in 2006.
Some residents in Turgo, where 66 people were killed by the 1994 eruptions, were still in their homes.
“Let the old people evacuate first. I’ll go and find grass for my cow first,” said Yanto, a Turgo resident in Pakem district, Sleman.
“When Merapi coughs up smoke, then I’ll go down the mountain to evacuate.”
