Indonesia's Merapi volcano kills at least 28

[yellow people]

Indonesia's Merapi volcano kills at least 28

By Beawiharta
SLEMAN, Indonesia | Wed Oct 27, 2010 5:24am EDT

SLEMAN, Indonesia (Reuters) - One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas on Wednesday in an eruption that has killed at least 28 people and injured 14. Mount Merapi, on the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta on Java island, first erupted on Tuesday, a day after a tsunami pounded remote islands in western Indonesia, killing at least 113 people.

Authorities have been trying to evacuate more than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the volcano, where many houses have been destroyed, the ruins lying covered in white ash. Kresno Heru Nugroho, head spokesman for Yogyakarta's Sardjito hospital, said 28 people had been killed by deadly bursts of hot air released by the volcano late on Tuesday.

His colleague Endita Sri Andrianti said some were burned beyond recognition. "We are still collecting details to identify them. Most of them were burned to death," she told Reuters by phone, adding that 14 villagers had suffered burn injuries. Another hospital official told Reuters it was likely that among the dead was the elderly spiritual guardian of the mountain, Mbah Maridjan, believed by many Javanese to possess magical powers.

Tests were being carried out to confirm a charred body found on the volcano was his. "We will not get the results of the DNA test until tomorrow but we think it is the most likely possibility," Banu Hermawan said. "His shirt and sarong are the same as Mbah Maridjan's, and his size." Maridjan's wife and children were at the hospital and had reported him missing, Hermawan said.

Many Indonesians posted tributes to the volcano's widely loved custodian via Facebook and Twitter. Many of the victims had been found in or around Maridjan's house in the village of Kinahredjo, close to the volcano's crater, local media reported. A Reuters cameraman at Kinahredjo said he saw burns victims being brought down from the mountain in body bags. Houses in the village had been destroyed.

BLANKET OF ASH

"Several houses and cattle have been burned by the hot cloud from the mountain," cameraman Johan Purnomo said. "All the houses are blanketed in ash, completely white. The leaves have been burned off the trees." Clouds of smoke and ash obscured the peak of the mountain, making it impossible to see if lava had begun flowing. The country' top vulcanologist, Surono, said Merapi was now "quite calm."

"There are no signs of another imminent eruption but I cannot guarantee anything and we don't know if this is just a temporary rest," Surono said. "I have advised local officials to continue the evacuations. It's still on the highest alert level." However, Metro TV showed footage of some villagers returning home on Wednesday.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono flew back from Hanoi, where he had been due to take part in a summit of East Asian leaders, to oversee relief efforts for the Merapi eruption and Sumatra tsunami, but said he expected to return to Vietnam for the main summit which runs from Thursday to Saturday.

"I will go back to Indonesia to ensure all the emergency response has been conducted well and after that... I will return to attend the East Asia Summit," he told reporters in Hanoi. Indonesian news portal Okezone quoted the manager of Yogyakarta's Adisucipto International Airport as saying that flights had not been disrupted by the ash cloud.

In a 1994 eruption after the volcano's lava dome collapsed, 70 people were killed. The volcano killed 1,300 people in 1930. Last month, another Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung on Sumatra island to the west, erupted after lying dormant for 400 years, forcing a mass evacuation.

(Additional reporting by Sunanda Creagh; Editing by Andrew Marshall and Miral Fahmy)

 

[yellow people]

Volunteers search for victims of the Mount Merapi eruption at the Mbah Marijan house at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 27, 2010. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas on Wednesday in an eruption that has killed at least 25 people and injured 14. More than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano are being evacuated after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level, officials said.

Volunteers search for victims of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinarrejo village in Sleman, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 27, 2010.

Volunteers carry the body of a victim of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinarrejo village in Sleman, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta October 27, 2010.


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[yellow people]

Villagers pray at the burial of a victim of the Mount Merapi eruption at Umbulhardjo village in Sleman,
near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 27, 2010.

A woman covers her baby as she runs from ash falling from an erupting volcano at Kaliurang village in Sleman, near Indonesia's ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 26, 2010. Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes, witnesses said.

A car is covered with ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano at Kaliurang village in Sleman, near Indonesia's ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 26, 2010. Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes, witnesses said.


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[yellow people]

Indonesian youth stand on a street covered by ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano at Kaliurang village in Sleman, near Indonesia's ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 26, 2010. Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes, witnesses said.

Indonesian soldiers stand guard on a street covered by ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano at Kaliurang village in Sleman, near Indonesia's ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 26, 2010. Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes, witnesses said.

Mount Merapi volcano emits smoke as it is seen from Kinahrejo village near Yogyakarta October 26, 2010. Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes.


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[Kunoichi]

Team overcomes dust, ash and m&d to reach Malaysian students


Thursday October 28, 2010

Team overcomes dust, ash and m&d to reach Malaysian students

By JOSHUA FOONG
[email protected]

PETALING JAYA: It was no easy task evacuating the 68 Malaysian religious students, their families and aid workers from the wrath of the erupting Mount Merapi. Led by Malaysian Students Department in Indonesia director Datuk Dr Junaidy Abu Bakar and Malaysian embassy officials, the team endured dust, ash and m&d to get to the students at the Pesantren Sirajul Mukhlasi, a religious institution, in Magelang. Dr Junaidy said the team was initially overwhelmed by ash clouds while heading to Magelang after getting an alert from the authorities on the eruption.

Meal time: Residents displaced by the Mount Merapi eruption queuing for food in Sleman yesterday. — AFP

“We encountered visibility problems while travelling by car because of falling ash and debris from the volcano. “We had to wear face masks because the air had become extremely polluted. The roads were filled with m&d. “We were shocked to find the car covered in m&d when we came out,” he said in a telephone interview from Solo, Central Java, yesterday. Dr Junaidy said the Malaysian evacuees were prepared and responded swiftly to his team’s instructions, adding that Malaysian students in Yogyakarta had also been put on alert.

He said the students were placed in a vacant hostel near Surakarta State University, about 60km from the spewing volcano in Solo, and were joined by two Singapore students from their institution. Dr Junaidy, who is staying with the students at the hostel, said they would put up there for at least five days while awaiting clearance from authorities to return.

“They will not be returning to Malaysia as they want to wait for the situation to improve so that they can resume their studies,” he said. The volcano is within the boundaries of the Yogyakarta Special District in Central Java where about 40,000 people live. Clouds of ash as high as 1,500m were seen spewing out of Mount Merapi, the world’s most active volcano.

Indonesian authorities issued a “red alert level” warning hours before the volcano erupted at 7.02pm Malaysian time. The Malaysian embassy in Jakarta also confirmed that no Malaysians were killed or injured in the earthquake and volcanic eruption. An operations room in Wisma Putra has also been opened for queries via two dedicated hotlines – 03-88892746 or 03-88874570. The Malaysian embassy in Jakarta can also be contacted at +6221-5224947 or +6221-52244971.

 

[Huang Zhong]

Indonesia disaster toll hits 377 as volcano erupts again


Indonesia disaster toll hits 377 as volcano erupts again

By Renjani Puspo Sari
JAKARTA | Thu Oct 28, 2010 9:28pm EDT

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Thursday for the second time in a week, blasting vast plumes of ash into the sky, as the death toll from the initial eruption and a tsunami that hit remote western islands reached 377.

There were no immediate reports of new casualties after Merapi's second eruption. More than 40,000 people had fled or been evacuated from Merapi's slopes earlier in the week, but many started to return after the volcano appeared to become calmer.

Officials said the death toll from a tsunami that hit the remote western Mentawai islands on Monday had reached at least 343. The tsunami was triggered on Monday by a 7.5 magnitude quake. A day later, Mount Merapi on the outskirts of Yogyakarta city on Java island erupted, killing at least 34.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had been due to take part in a summit of Asian leaders in Hanoi from Thursday to Saturday, flew back to Indonesia after the twin disasters. "The president was very moved when he met the victims of the tsunami and earthquake," Yudhoyono's spokesman, Julian Pasha, told Reuters, adding that the president planned to return to Hanoi before Saturday.

"He has issued instructions for all aid to continue to flow in without disruption." Parts of an early warning system installed after a huge 2004 tsunami killed more than 226,000 people had been stolen but overall the system still worked, said the head of the meteorological agency, Sri Woro Harijono.

"Yes, some of our sensors disappear because they are stolen, such as seismographs and solar cells," she said. "But it is just one or three sensors out of 100. The system works fine." Local media reported that parts of the tsunami early warning system had not worked properly because they had been vandalized or removed, while Metro TV broadcast footage of villagers questioning the effectiveness of the warning system.

"This has also been reported to the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology but we also need to make sure this information is verified properly," said Pasha. "We know that when the quake happened, within 10 minutes this enormous tsunami came. So maybe the speed with which it came meant that the early warning system didn't work."

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mount Merapi killed 1,300 people in 1930. In December 2004, a tsunami caused by an earthquake of more than 9 magnitude off Sumatra killed more than 226,000 people. It was the deadliest tsunami on record.

(Writing by Sunanda Creagh, editing by Andrew Marshall)

 

[Medusa]

Air Force brings home first batch of 130 students from Solo


Monday November 8, 2010

Air Force brings home first batch of 130 students from Solo

By JOSHUA FOONG
[email protected]

SUBANG JAYA: The first batch of 130 Malaysian university students affected by the Mount Merapi volcanic eruption arrived safely on-board a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RAMF) aircraft yesterday evening. The aircraft touched down after a nine-hour operation at 7.55pm. The students appeared calm and expressed relief for their safe evacuation from the disaster zone.

In pain: Shobana being transferred to an ambulance once she landed at the Royal Airforce base in Subang Sunday night.

“We were put up in a hotel by government officials and were given food while waiting to fly back,” first-year medical student at Universiti Gadjah Mada Lee Kai Xin, 18 said. “We appreciate the care and concern shown by the Government throughout our ordeal,” added Lee, who is from Ipoh. However, for Lee’s coursemate Nurul Izzati Ahmad, 19, from Alor Setar it was like coming from “one natural disaster to another”. “While I am very grateful to be back home, my hometown is flooded. But at least I am close to those who matter most to me,” she said.

While most of the 130 were in good health, a pharmacy student Shobana Pillai Murali had to be brought down on a stretcher as she suffered a slip disc injury before the series of volcanic eruptions happened. “She has been brought to the Sungai Buloh Hospital for a check up. It’s nothing serious,” Malaysian Students Department in Indonesia director Datuk Dr Junaidy Abu Bakar said. Later, two other planes touched down at 11pm and at midnight respectively, with more evacuees.