Thousands refuse to flee as volcano primes for blast
More than 25,000 villagers were refusing to leave their homes on the slopes of a killer Indonesian volcano today, despite warnings that the peak was poised for a powerful eruption.
“They believe it will not erupt,” said Sigit Raharjo, a spokesman for the local government close to Mount Kelud in the heart of the country’s densely-populated Java island.
“They are being very foolish. All we can do is ask them to leave.”
Kelud, one of more than 100 active volcanos in Indonesia, has been on the highest alert level for more than two weeks, but yesterday recorded increased activity that led scientists to wrongly declare an eruption had begun.
Scores of people, including women hauling babies in slings, descended from the mountain in police trucks and on bicycles and motorcycles. Some were in tears.
“I am afraid because the authorities say this eruption will be worse than the ones that have come before,” said Marsini, resident of a village three miles from the crater. “They say there may be poisonous gas. I am leaving now.”
Despite the exodus, Raharjo said only some 12,000 out of about 38,000 people living within 10km of the peak had moved into tent camps or government buildings a safe distance from the volcano.
In 1990, Mt. Kelud killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In 1919, a powerful explosion that could be heard hundreds of miles away destroyed dozens of villages and killed at least 5,160.
Scientists fear a build-up of magma under Kelud’s crater lake could trigger a violent blast, sending a torrent of mud, ash and rock careering down the side of the 5,679ft mountain.
But they also note any eruption could be small – or may not happen at all.
Yesterday the peak recorded non-stop volcanic tremors and a surge in temperature at its lake. Monitors fled their observation posts convinced an eruption had begun, but were unable to visually confirm it because the peak was shrouded in fog.
They later said it had not erupted. It was not clear today whether they had returned to their posts.
For weeks, authorities have pleaded with villagers to move to tent camps or government buildings, but have faced resistance. Many people have insisted on staying behind to tend to crops or look after their houses.
Some apparently believe a local myth, which claims that if residents turn off all the lights and speak softly, the mountain will not erupt.
Indonesia is spread across 17,500 islands and is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location within the so-called Ring of Fire – a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and south-east Asia.
