Indonesian volcanoes on red alert
Indonesia’s volcanoes often make life exciting for the people living here. With many active volcanoes giving clues to their further intentions, one knows its only a matter of time. The latest to rear it’s head is Mt. Kelud in East Java. Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.
Several Indonesian volcanoes blast ash, lava and thick smoke clouds
MOUNT KELUD, East Java (AP): A series of Indonesian volcanos spewed hot ash, molten rock and clouds of dark smoke, and scientists warned that a violent eruption could happen at any moment.
The most threatening was the deadly Mount Kelud on densely populated Java island, where a dome of magma was forming under a crater lake Monday and soaring temperatures overheated monitoring equipment.
Just a few hundred kilometers away, Anak Krakatao, or the “Child of Krakatoa,” fired pumice and lava onto its slopes off the northern tip of Java island.
At least one other of Indonesia’s approximately 100 active volcanoes sent bursts of ash showering down on nearby villages.
Authorities monitoring the peaks were most worried about Kelud because of its deadly history, including a 1919 explosion that killed thousands.
The temperature of the crater lake on Mount Kelud was so great that nearby monitoring equipment stopped working, said Surono, one of 16 volcanologists watching over the peak 24 hours a day.
Despite the threat, there was little sense of panic on Kelud’s slopes, witnesses said.
Several thousand people have fled to government shelters, authorities said Sunday that around 25,000 others were ignoring evacuation orders and remained in the danger zone around Kelud.
Officials have made no attempts to prevent people from traveling inside a 10-kilometer zone around the peak that the local government say is off limits.
“I feel it is OK to stay here,” said Sukirno, who was tending papaya plants some seven kilometers from the peak. “No one can guarantee our safety apart from ourselves.”
Kelud has been on the highest alert level for more than two weeks, but scientists have been warning since Friday that an eruption was imminent based on the frequency of tremors shaking and its intense heat.
In 1990, Mount Kelud spat out red-hot gases, mud and lava that killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In 1919, a powerful explosion that reportedly could be heard hundreds of kilometers away killed at least 5,160.
Surono said that – based on the number of tremors and the lake temperature – the eruption will be larger than in 1990, although the team monitoring the volcano have also said an eruption may be small or gradual – or might not happen at all given the unpredictable nature of the 5,679-foot mountain.
Indonesia is spread across 17,500 islands and is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location within the so-called “Ring of Fire” – a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
On Gunung Batur in Bali the locals will place eggs in the cracks near the summit and steam them cooked. Gunung Agung will come back to life someday and make things interesting for those living in East Bali. In the meantime, hiking a volcano in Bali or the rest of Indonesia is generally safe if you watch the news.