Volcanoes
S


Arrow Up

Indonesian Volcano Death Toll Rises To 324


CBC News
Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:13 UTC
The number of people killed in recent eruptions of Indonesia's most volatile volcano has risen to 324, according to an official.

Image
© Gembong Nusantara/Associated PressA man stands in his destroyed village after the eruption of Mount Merapi in Klaten, Indonesia, on Friday. In addition to those killed immediately in the disaster, people have died from burns they sustained, officials say.
Syamsul Maarif of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday the official death toll from Mount Merapi's eruptions rose after some victims succumbed to severe burns and more bodies were found on the volcano's slopes.

The volcano, located in the middle of the central Indonesian island of Java, initially erupted Oct. 26 - less than 24 hours after a tsunami slammed into the remote Mentawai islands at the western end of the country, killing 509 people.
Read More...
Attention

Mount Merapi death toll hits 240


CBC
Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:47 UTC
Mount Merapi volcano
© Raditya Djati/ReutersThis aerial view taken on Tuesday shows the Mount Merapi volcano erupting in Indonesia's central Java province.
Rescuers pulled more bodies from a village smothered a week ago by searing gases from Indonesia's most volatile volcano as more people succumbed to their burns, raising the death toll Saturday to 240.

Mount Merapi shot out more hot clouds Friday evening, though no new deaths were reported from those flows, which slid as far as 10 kilometres from the crater. The mountain has continuously spewed ash - and occasionally torrents of rock, gas and lava in dramatic eruptions - since it roared to life Oct. 26 after years of dormancy.

The volcano is the most active in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 235 million people that is prone to seismic activity because it sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped string of faults that lines the Pacific Ocean.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Philippine Volcano Spews Ash


The Straits Times
Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00 UTC
Mount Bulusan
© Agence France-PresseMount Bulusan spews ash and emits black smoke in Casiguran town, Sorsogon.
Manila - An explosion of ash and smoke from the rumbling Bulusan volcano in the central Philippines has jolted residents awake but scientists say an eruption is not imminent.

One of the country's 23 active volcanoes, Bulusan came back to life last weekend after emitting lava three years ago.

The state institute of volcanology says its analysis of the ashfall, which has blanketed about six municipalities, showed it contains no magma and there is no danger of eruption.

The latest blast early Friday shot up ash and steam some 500m above the 1,560m summit.

Authorities have distributed face masks, opened up evacuation centers and warned aircraft to avoid flying near the volcano.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Anak Krakatau's Latest Rumbling Growing Pains

Dessy Sagita
The Jakarta Globe
Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:20 UTC
Jakarta - The crater of Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait has expanded to a diameter of 25-26 meters, an Indonesian volcanologist says.

The news comes as the frequency of eruptions of the volcano increases.

On Friday there were 615 eruptions, on Saturday there were 623 and on Sunday 668.

Anton S. Pambudi, a Banten province official who monitors the volcano, said the latest eruptions had changed the shape of the crater and his team would continue to monitor it.

Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah said Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) did not pose a threat and the eruptions, which can be seen from the western tip of Java, were spectacular to watch.

Krakatoa exploded in 1883, with the resulting tsunamis killing an estimated 40,000 people, though some estimates put the death toll much higher.

The explosion is still considered to be the loudest sound ever heard in modern history, with reports of it being heard nearly 4,800 kilometers away.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Indonesia's Mount Dempo volcanic activity intensifies: official


People Daily / Xinhua
Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:38 UTC
Image
© sugengpribadi.com
The volcanic activity of Mount Dempo in Pagaralam of South Sumatra province, has been increasing recently, with at least 79 tremors recorded last week, the Jakarta Post quoted an official as saying on Monday.

"Eight deep volcanic quakes and one surface quake were recorded between Oct. 25 and 31," Mt. Dempo observation post chief Slamet said.

He said Mt. Dempo was different to other volcanoes in Indonesia, particularly because of its wide and vast crater.

"This means there can be changes in its volcanic activity at any time," Slamet said.

Dempo erupted in 1838, creating a lava lake covering an area of around 3,000 square meters.

Despite that only volcanic tremors had been recorded, Slamet said, residents living on Dempo's slopes needed to be on the alert because of its unpredictable nature.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Volcanic Activity Forces Airlines to Cancel Flights to Indonesian Capital

Sarah Dilorenzo
TheSpec
Sat, 06 Nov 2010 00:00 UTC
Image
© AP PhotoPassengers enter a terminal as an information screen shows cancelled international flights at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010.
Mount Merapi - International airlines cancelled flights into Indonesia's capital Saturday after a volcano hundreds of kilometres to the east unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century, incinerating villagers as they fled a searing gas cloud.

The number of people killed by Mount Merapi in the past two weeks climbed to 138, as a tiny hospital at the foot of the mountain struggled to cope with survivors, some with burns on up to 95 per cent of their bodies.

The only sign of life in one man, whose eyes were milky grey in colour and never blinked, was the shallow rising and falling of his chest. Others, their lungs choked with abrasive volcanic ash, struggled to breathe.

Indonesia's most volatile mountain unleashed a surge of searing gas, rocks and debris Friday that raced down its slopes at highway speeds, mowing down the slope-side village of Bronggang and leaving a trail of charred corpses in its path.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Cascading volcanic ash sets homes ablaze


MSNBC
Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:48 UTC
Mount Merapi
© Beawiharta / ReutersMount Merapi volcano spews smoke as seen from Sidorejo village in Klaten, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, on Nov. 3. The latest eruption was the biggest yet, causing evacuees to move their shelters even further from the mountain.
Mount Merapi, Indonesia - A deadly surge of blistering gases cascaded down the slopes of Indonesia's most volatile volcano Friday, torching houses in one mountainside village. At least 48 people were killed in the latest inferno and scores of others injured.

Men with ash-covered faces streamed down Mount Merapi on motorcycles followed by truckloads of women and crying children, following the massive eruption just before midnight Friday.

Even staff at the mountain's main monitoring post were told to move farther from the glowing crater.

Hospital spokesman Heru Nugroho said 48 bodies were brought in after the inferno. More than 65 others were injured, many of them critically.
Read More...
Radar

Indonesia volcano shoots new blast; 21 more rumble

Slamet Riyadi
Associated Press
Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:45 UTC
Image
© ReutersMount Merapi volcano spews smoke as seen from Deles village in Klaten, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta.
Mount Merapi, Indonesia - Deafening explosions of hot gas rattled evacuees miles (kilometers) from an Indonesian volcano Monday, the latest eruption in a deadly week. The country reported increased rumblings at 21 other active volcanoes, raising questions about what's causing the uptick along some of the world's most volatile fault lines.

No casualties were reported in Mount Merapi's new blast, which came as Indonesia struggles to respond to an earthquake-generated tsunami that devastated a remote chain of islands. The two disasters unfolding on opposite ends of the country have killed nearly 500 people and strained the government's emergency response network. In both events, the military has been called in to help.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Huge Volcanic Blast Spurs More Indonesians to Flee

Slamet Riyadi
Associated Press
Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:54 UTC
Mount Merapi Eruption
© Trisnadi/AP Mount Merapi spews volcanic material as it erupts.
Indonesia's deadly volcano erupted Wednesday with its biggest blast yet, shooting searing ash miles into the sky and forcing hasty new evacuations of panicked people from villages and emergency shelters.

Soldiers loaded men, women and crying children into trucks as rocks and debris hurled in the air and down the mountain's slopes. No new casualties were reported immediately after the booming explosion that lasted more than an hour.

"This is an extraordinary eruption, triple from the first" on Oct. 26, said Surono, a state volcanologist.
Read More...
Phoenix

Indonesian Volcano Grounds Planes; Evacuated Residents Restless to Go Home

Sara Schonhardt
VOA News
Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:55 UTC
Image
© VOA Photo - S. SchonhardtEvacuees gather to watch television to stave off boredom
Thousands of Indonesians forced from their homes because of Mount Merapi's continued eruptions are restless to leave the evacuation shelters. And the volcano's ash clouds now are forcing airlines to cancel some flights.

A week after Indonesia's most active volcano began shooting searing gas clouds from its crater, restless evacuees say they are tired of living in hot, cramped shelters. But repeated explosions signal that the volcano, known here as "Fire Mountain," is not ready to let them go home.

Continued blasts have not deterred many families from heading back up the mountain. They go to check on their homes and cattle. At night, they return, packing into overcrowded camps to sleep on thin mats among thousands.
Read More...