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Thousands flee as volcano roars to life

Fiery mountain in Indonesia belches clouds of ash and lava, forcing the evacuation of villagers

YOGYAKARTA (Indonesia): Indonesia's Merapi volcano rumbled into action on Saturday, belching clouds of black ash and fiery lava, and forcing the evacuation of thousands of villagers who live on its fertile slopes.

Authorities raised the alert to the highest level, meaning an eruption may be imminent, said Bambang Dwiyanto, head of the region's volcano logy centre.

``Because there have been constant lava flows that cause hot gases, we have raised the status to the highest level,'' Mr. Dwiyanto said. The raised danger indicator means that anyone living near the peak of the volcano would immediately be evacuated to temporary shelters elsewhere on densely populated Central Java province.

Tremors recorded

Merapi, about 400 km east of the capital, Jakarta, came back to life in recent weeks after years of relative inactivity.

An evacuation process has been ongoing, but many people refused to leave behind precious livestock and crops. On Saturday, experts recorded 27 volcanic tremors as burning lava oozed from the crater, said Dr. Ratdomo Purbo, who heads an observation post at Merapi.

The mountain had ``begun spewing hot (ash) clouds at least 14 times today.''

Lava flows reached 1,500 metres down its slopes, he said, prompting thousands to immediately leave their homes.

Officials have said as many as 7,000 persons still need to leave.

Hundreds of elders, women and children were taken in buses and trucks to relocation centres set up at local schools and government buildings.

Farmers stay behind

Some farmers said they would stay on their land because they had not seen any volcanic activity themselves, defying a request from the revered Sultan Sri Hamengkubuwono of Yogyakarta — who is also the regional Governor — just 18 km from Merapi.

``We will not leave soon because of our livestock,'' said a cattle farmer who declined to give his name.

By sunset, plumes of white smoke streaked several kilometres across an otherwise peaceful sky over the mountain.

Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific ``Ring of Fire'' — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. It last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 persons to death. — AP

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