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Indonesia's Mount Kelut spews ash and lava Blitar, Indonesia (AFP) Nov 12, 2007 Indonesian scientists Monday warned residents living on the slopes of a brewing volcano in East Java to keep their distance, after it spewed ash and lava despite a downgraded alert. Authorities last Thursday modified a warning that Mount Kelut was about to erupt, after it appeared that the volcano was only experiencing a slow eruption and was unlikely to explode. Volcanic activity is still high, however, with tremors continuing and a lava dome, created by lava oozing through cracks, emerging from the crater like an "island" and continuing to expand. "Lava is constantly shooting out of the crater. We recommend people keep a distance since there is always the danger of lava material catapulting far from the crater," volcanologist Agus Budianto told AFP. "Amazing visuals can be seen from our CCTV (closed-circuit television)... The island is now 250 metres (yards) in diameter and stands 120 metres above the lake surface," he added. Residents are being warned to stay at least three kilometres (two miles) from the crater. The danger zone was a 10-kilometre radius around the crater when the volcano was on its top alert, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people who have since returned home. Smoke plumed up to two kilometres out of Mount Kelut on Sunday afternoon and ash covered a number of villages around the volcano. "We have not made our own observations, but we heard reports of ash rain in several surrounding villages," volcanologist Jajang said from a monitoring post near the nearby town of Kediri. Several volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, have roared to life in recent weeks. The archipelagic nation is home to about 130 active volcanoes, including 21 on Java. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
In The Blink Of A Hurricane's Eye Huntsville AL (SPX) Nov 12, 2007 Meteorologists' jaws dropped as Hurricane Humberto slammed the Texas shore early morning September 13, 2007. At first just a nameless tropical depression, the storm marshaled 85 mph winds and heavy rains in the blink of an eye, demanding its identity as a category one hurricane. "It made the transition from tropical depression to hurricane within 24 hours right before landfall. It was a record breaker," says NASA atmospheric scientist Robbie Hood. |
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