Mt. Merapi ready to pop in Central Java

Central Java’s Mt. Merapi is close to erupting, says a leading geologist, Subandriyo. Central Java is densely populated with fertile land surrounding the volcano. Farmers continue to work, even though warnings have been given. Former President Megawati paid a visit to a village close to Merapi, to talk to local people. Yogjakarta is only 39km to the south. Barrie told me that Candika was staying put in Yogja, and hopefully, the city will not be harmed.

Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.

Mt. Merapi on the brink of erupting, volcanologist warns - Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

‘Central Java’s Mt. Merapi is again showing signs of increased volcanic activity, and its rising magma and the thick, yellow clouds of sulfurous gases it spewed out Monday morning mean an eruption is imminent, an expert says.

“Merapi is now entering its eruption phase, which can be determined from the mountain’s significant morphological changes,” the head of volcanology of the Yogyakarta Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, Subandriyo, said. “We no longer need to do measurements. Magma is already at the (mountain’s) surface.”

Eighty-four tremors, four lava discharges and one shallow volcanic tremor were recorded on the volcano from midnight to 6 a.m. Monday. Rescue workers and police evacuated hundreds of senior citizens, children and pregnant housewives from houses located in risk-prone areas on the slopes of the volcano Monday to shelters.

The evacuations were carried out in two stages, the first at 10 a.m. for the elderly and pregnant women, and later at 4 p.m. for children. Hundreds of refugees occupied Argomulyo village hall, and shelter camps in the Wukirsari and Gayam villages in Sleman, Yogyakarta. “The number of evacuees will probably rise because we are continuing the evacuation process until this evening,” Argomulyo village official Agung Nugroho said.

Many of the villagers said they had decided to evacuate after hearing a plea to do so by Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. “We were fetched (from our houses) and the sultan had advised us to evacuate,” said Karyo Utomo, a 65-year-old resident from Kepuharjo village at the Wukirsari camp. However, Karyo said he believed Merapi was not likely to erupt soon.

“But it doesn’t matter, as long as I don’t stay in the camp for too long because I have to feed my cows at home, which are being tended by my children now,” he said. “I’d rather stay at home than here,” said Wanti, who is sheltering with her two small children at the Argomulyo camp.

There were no mats to sit or sleep on and no bathroom amenities, such as soap or pails to bathe infants, she said Monday evening. Also Monday, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri visited the villagers at Tanjung hamlet on the slopes of Merapi, urging them to leave. “The eruption is approaching, so it’s time to evacuate,” Megawati said, adding she feared for their safety.’

Merapi has been classified as a high-risk volcano and was included into the list of 15 ‘Decade Volcanoes’ by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI). If I were them, I’d install a few biaxial borehole tiltmeters and monitor them hourly.