Asia-Pacific

Indonesia's volcano re-erupts

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-01 13:25

SLEMAN, Yogyakarta, Indonesia - Indonesia's volcano in Central Java is erupting again now on Monday, starting at 10:02 am Jakarta time (0302 GMT) and spewing hot ash up to 1,000 meters high, an official at Volcanology and Mitigation Agency in Yogyakarta said.

Residents ride on motorcycles as they leave their village after Mount Merapi volcano erupted in Sidorejo village in Klaten, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, Oct 31, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

The hot ash spread toward southern direction by up to more than 4 kilometers, the official told Xinhua.

The mount spewed ash for over five minutes, then the spew decreased, another official at Volcanology and Mitigation Agency in Central Java province named only Singat told Xinhua by phone from the province.

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Mount Merapi is located on the border of Yogakarta province and Central Java province.

The eruption triggered panic among thousands of evacuees living in barracks in Kaliurang of Sleman district as they were scared that the ash would reach them.

"They want to escape from the shelters when the eruption took place," said Teguh Raharjo, an official of Disaster and Mitigation management Agency in Yogyakarta province told Xinhua.

Mount Merapi with 2,968 meters high started eruption on Oct 26, killing 33 people and displacing more than 40,000 others.

Mount Merapi is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. The Southeast Asian country lies in a quake-prone zone called the Pacific Ring of Fire, and now has 129 active volcanoes.

The previous eruption of Mount Merapi in 2006 killed two people. A 1994 eruption claimed 60 lives. A major eruption in 1930 killed more than 1,000 people.