Posted 24 May 2006 @ 11:24
Updated 24 May 2006 @ 11:49
YOGYAKARTA, 24 May 2006 - Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano showed increased activity on Wednesday, spewing more searing heat clouds and lava down its southwestern slopes, officials said. The volcano emitted 11 new clouds of gas and ash and 76 lava trails in the first six hours of Wednesday, the vulcanology office in Yogyakarta, 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, said in a daily report.
The report said heat clouds travelled as far as four kilometers (2.5 miles) down to Kali Krasak river southwest of Merapi. The volcano's alert level remains on its highest status, the report said. Twenty-nine lava flows and five heat clouds were emitted in the first six hours of Tuesday.
The clouds, known by locals as "shaggy goats", consist of volcanic gases, ash and dust and reach temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius (930 degrees Fahrenheit). In the southern district of Sleman, thick ash from the clouds covered roofs, trees and cars in the Tunggularum area, said Sapto, an official with the district's evacuation agency.
Residents were seen wearing face masks when travelling outside their homes during the hour-long rain of ash, Sapto told AFP. Scientists have warned that although the magma flow which forms a dome at the peak appears to be weakening, the structure may collapse and spew out millions of cubic metres of volcanic rock and lava.
23 May 2006: Mount Merapi is seen erupts as seen from Cangkringan, near Yogyakarta. The rumbling volcano remained a danger to villagers living on its slopes despite an easing of volcanic activity at the mountain, government observers said.
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