© unknownA picture of Indonesia's Mount Merapi taken from Umbul Harjo village in Sleman, Yogyakarta, shows the volcano spewing smoke. Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted three times on Tuesday, causing thousands to flee and claiming the life of a three-month-old baby as it emitted searing clouds and volcanic ash.
The fault that ruptured Monday on Sumatra island's coast also caused the 2004 quake and monster Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Though hundreds of disaster officials were unable to get to many of the villages on the Mentawai islands - reachable only by a 12-hour boat ride - they were preparing for the worst.
"We have 200 body bags on the way, just in case," said Mujiharto, who heads the Health Ministry's crisis center, shortly before announcing a five-fold increase in the death toll.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire - a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
