Indonesia's Mount Merapi Volcano Erupts: Big Pic

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Oct. 26, 2010 -- Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted three times on Tuesday, causing thousands to flee and claiming the life of a three-month-old baby girl as it emitted searing clouds and volcanic ash.

Before the latest eruption people living in the shadow of Indonesia's most active volcano had been warned to evacuate or risk being killed.

"We heard three explosions around 6:00 p.m. (11:00 GMT) spewing volcanic material as high as 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) and sending heat clouds down the slopes," government volcanologist Surono told AFP.

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A doctor at Muntilan hospital, Sasongko, told MetroTV: "The baby had severe breathing difficulties from inhaling volcanic materials and we could not help her."

She was the first reported death from the volcano in central Java, around 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the cultural capital of Yogyakarta.

At least 24 people were treated at the same hospital for breathing difficulties, while elsewhere five men suffered burns.

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Television footage showed thousands of people fleeing the eruptions in panic, some covered in white ash, as officials tried to help them escape the area.

Authorities had put an area 10 kilometers (six miles) around the crater of Mount Merapi on red alert Monday, ordering 19,000 people to flee.

"This eruption is certainly bigger than the 2006 eruption during which the heat clouds occurred for only seven minutes after the eruption," Surono said. "Today's eruption released heat clouds of gas and ash down the slopes for about two hours. We cannot tell you how far the searing clouds went down on the slopes because it's dark."

The 2006 blast Surono referred to killed two people.

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Before the latest eruption officials said nearly 15,000 people had ignored evacuation orders despite several minor blasts that sent lava spewing down Merapi's southern slopes.

Many people sleeping in camps returned to their homes during the day to work and tend to their cattle. Some men refused to leave altogether, confident they would be able to escape.

Field coordinator Widi Sutikno, of the Sleman district on the southern slopes of the mountain, said only about 3,700 people out of 11,400 in his area had sought shelter in makeshift refuges.

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"We have evacuated many women, pregnant women, sick people, elderly people and children," Sutikno said.

"We let some people return to their fields for their daily activity. But they need to go back to the camps and not their houses," he said.

Sukamto, 50, a farmer, said his family had been evacuated but he still needed to tend his cows.

"It's still fine for me to work, as I can see when the volcano will erupt from here. I work at around eight kilometers (five miles) from the top of Merapi and I think it's still safe," Sukamto said.

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"However, I still have to be really careful here," he said.

Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country.

Content provided by: AFP

Photo credit: AP Photo