Volcanic ash taking toll on health, crops in Indonesia (News Feature)

By Sukino Harisumarto Nov 2, 2010, 11:03 GMT

Jakarta - The clouds of ash spewed by Mount Merapi in its four eruptions in the past week have made entire communities and farms in tropical Indonesia look snow-covered, but it was far from a winter wonderland they delivered.

The tens of thousands of residents living nearby are having their health threatened by breathing in the cloying substance and seeing their livelihoods put at risk. Those who have fled to the safety of evacuation centres are also dealing with feelings of helplessness because they cannot protect their crops and livestock and are left with nothing to do but wait.

At least 38 people have been killed in the eruptions on crowded Java island while survivors living on Merapi's slopes are facing millions of dollars in losses because the volcano's searing debris has burned trees and crops and killed their livestock.

'One of the problems is, we have to clean the volcanic ash from covering the leaves of our crops,' said Wardiyono, a fruit farmer living in Srumbung village, about 5 kilometres from Merapi's peak. 'If the volcanic ash is left unremoved, the plantations are destroyed.'

'But we haven't been able to begin the cleanup immediately because we're still not allowed to return to our fields until Merapi stops erupting,' Wardiyono, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

While the volcano has brought a curse to farmers for the time being, it also delivers a longtime blessing because its ash fertilizes crops in the coming planting seasons and makes their soil rich and fertile.

But other immediate problems also exist. Health authorities warned residents against breathing in the ash from Indonesia's most active volcano and one of the world's most dangerous.

'It is a real health hazard if volcanic ash is inhaled in a large quantity,' said Bondan Agus Suryanto from nearby Yogyakarta's health office. 'It could cause infections of the respiratory system.'

He called on residents to stay indoors or wear face masks if they had to go outdoors.

The number of evacuees suffering from ash-induced respiratory problems and eye irritations was rising, mostly among the elderly, health officials said.

The repercussions of the latest eruptions of the 2,968-metre volcano, located about 500 kilometres south-east of Jakarta, has spread well beyond its slopes. Its ash briefly forced the closure of the airport in the cultural centre Yogyakarta and a partial closure of the ancient Borobudur temple, Indonesia's most visited tourist site.

However, tourist officials said Merapi's eruptions did not affect visitor arrivals to Yogyakarta and only caused a brief but sharp fall in visitors to the nearby Buddhist temple.

'There was a sharp decline in visitors for four days when we were cleaning up the ash,' said Siti Aminah from Borobudur park. 'A [visitor] ban was put in place to smooth the cleaning process as well as to protect visitors' health from the danger of volcanic ash.'

Meanwhile, many of the thousands of refugees living in evacuation centres for more than a week have little to do and complained of boredom.

'We're just staying idle, ... only eating, drinking and chatting with friends,' Suwanto, a 60-year-old resident from a hamlet on Merapi's slope, was quoted as saying by Antara. 'We cannot stay here in the evacuation camps much longer.'

Vulcanologists warned that the evacuees living within a 10-kilometre radius of Merapi's peak have to remain for the time being in the temporary shelters.

'Merapi is still very dangerous,' said Surono, the head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center. 'It is still on top alert.'

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