Volcano spews out more ash and lava in Indonesia
A volcano on a tiny Indonesian island is spewing out more hot ash and lava after causing six deaths over the weekend.
Command post official Mutiara Mauboi said more than 500 Palue island residents who earlier refused to leave the 1.9-mile (3km) exclusion zone around Mount Rokatenda have been evacuated to neighbouring Flores island.
She added that the search for the bodies of two children killed in an eruption early on Saturday had been called off.
Government volcanologist Surono said the volcano’s eruptions were smaller today but the potential danger remains high because the volcano is releasing hot gas clouds. He said molten lava and ash have covered most of Palue island in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The island in eastern Indonesia has only a 2.5-mile radius (4km) radius.
"Mount Rokatenda remains on high alert,'' Surono said. ``There has been no significant decline in activity.''
About a quarter of Palua’s 12,000 people moved to Flores after the volcano began erupting last October, said Tini Thadeus, head of the local disaster agency, adding that the government has agreed to build new houses for the displaced.
The six victims this weekend were among residents who refused to leave last year when the safety zone was established, he said, adding that many who stayed believed in old customs which required their presence to stop lava destroying villages, Mr Thadeus said. Among the dead was a 58-year-old woman, the grandmother of the two children.
During past eruptions dating back to the 1930s, lava typically flowed south, but this time it moved north toward the beaches where the victims slept, he said.
Mount Rokatenda is one of 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands which is home to 240 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.
A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s eastern coast today about 541 miles (872km) north-east of the volcano.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, said Suhardjono of the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, adding that it had no potential to cause a tsunami.
The quake was 57 miles (92km) deep and its epicentre was 117 miles (189km) west-north-west of Saumlaki town in Maluku province.
