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Indonesian Volcano Quietens Down
Jakarta (AFP) Jun 19, 2006 Indonesia's Mount Merapi showed less volcanic activity Saturday but scientists warned that it was still extremely dangerous after hot clouds of gas and ash killed two people. In the first six hours of Saturday, the heat clouds travelled about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) down Marapi's southeastern slopes, said Triyani of the volcanology office in Yogyakarta. The volcano also spewed 49 trails of molten rock which travelled as far as three kilometers down its slopes, she said. "Merapi continues to emit heat clouds and the alert level remains at its highest," Triyani told AFP. Rescuers Friday found the charred bodies of two men who had been trapped in an emergency bunker under extremely hot volcanic debris. The men had taken shelter after Merapi released a cloud of hot gas and ash that reached seven kilometers down its southeastern slopes on Wednesday. Heat clouds can reach temperatures of 500 degrees Celsius. The emission Wednesday led to scientists placing Merapi back on its highest alert level just a day after they had downgraded it. About 12,000 residents in seven villages on Merapi's slopes have been hit by clean water shortages after a water pipeline was destroyed by the volcano's clouds of hot gas, the state Antara news agency reported. "People need water. We cannot deal with this problem ourselves. I hope that the district administration will help us," head of Kepuharjo village Agustina Puji was quoted by Antara as saying. She said cattle were also suffering because of the shortage. People in the seven villages have used clean water channelled through the two-kilometer pipeline from a spring near Merapi's peak since the 1970s. About 15,000 villagers sheltering in makeshift camps had just begun returning home Wednesday when the heat clouds appeared. The volcano had been on red alert since May 13. Merapi has shown fluctuating volcanic activity since mid-May but appeared to stabilise after a lava dome that had been forming at its peak partially collapsed last Friday. Merapi's deadliest eruption was in 1930 when more than 1,300 people were killed.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links - 
Residents Run For Cover As Philippine Volcano Spews Ash
Manila (AFP) Jun 19, 2006One of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines spewed a massive column of ash about two kilometres (more than a mile) into the sky Sunday, sending residents of surrounding areas fleeing for cover, radio reports said. |
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