More evacuated as Indonesian volcano erupts again
Volcanologists said the "high intensity" eruption was the strongest yet from the 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) Mount Merapi, but there were no reports of new casualties after 36 people were killed last week.
"Today's eruption is bigger than yesterday's. Heat clouds and volcanic material were shot 10 kilometres (six miles) into the sky," a government scientist said in Yogyakarta, which lies south of the volcano.
An avalanche of heat clouds that can kill anything in their path streamed nine kilometres down the slopes of the volcano, a sacred landmark in Javanese tradition whose name translates as "Mountain of Fire".
Residents of an emergency shelter in Wukirsari village of Sleman district, about 20 kilometres from the volcano's peak, said it spat heat clouds and debris for about three hours after dawn.
Scientists however said it had erupted throughout the night but the extent of the debris -- which reached almost as high as the altitude of cruising jetliners -- had only become visible after sunrise.
Officials said the number of people at safety shelters rose to 90,000 from 75,000 on Wednesday, when the official exclusion zone was widened from 10 to 15 kilometres around the volcano.
"The emergency shelters are now overcrowded," emergency response field coordinator Widi Sutikno said.
"We've started to move facilities and equipment from the previous shelters to the new locations," he added.
In Magelang district military official Ida Bagus Surya said volcanic debris ripped 10 tents on Wednesday.
news.com.au
