Indonesia downgrades volcano's alert status

Jul 12, 2006, 11:16 GMT

Jakarta - Indonesian experts on Wednesday downgraded the alert status for the troublesome Mount Merapi because the volcano has been spewing less hot gas and molten lava in recent days.

After placing the 2,968-metre volcano on the highest alert level for two months, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in central Java to makeshift shelters, scientists said they now believe the volcano is calming down.

Sapari, an official at the volcano's nearby monitoring post who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name, confirmed the downgrade occurred Wednesday morning, citing a statement issued by the directorate general of volcanology.

But the volcano remained off-limits to hikers, and local residents have been warned against conducting activities such as farming and sand digging within a 6-kilometre radius of Merapi's crater, according to the statement.

Local government officials estimated that the recent expulsions of hot ash from the rumbling volcano had destroyed more than 3,000 hectares of paddy, secondary crops and horticultural plants.

Ratdomopurbo, head of the state-run Centre for Volcanological Research and Technology in the nearby city of Yogyakarta, said experts decided to lower the danger status because Merapi's activity had been steadily declining in the past week.

'The number of hot clouds has declined in the last several days,' Ratdomopurbo told reporters.

However, Ratdomopurbo warned residents living within the volcano's danger zone to remain vigilant, saying Merapi might still pose a danger.

Experts had feared a lava dome that has been building up inside the crater since April would collapse, generating clouds of hot gas and lava flows that could kill scores of nearby residents.

Merapi, which lies about 450 kilometres south-east of Jakarta, is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and its threatening activity had forced the government to evacuate about 20,000 people from its slopes.

On June 14, the volcano unexpectantly spewed a massive gas cloud and cracked its fragile lava dome, forcing thousands to flee just a day after officials had lowered the alert level and people had returned home. Two people were found dead the next day, having been trapped inside an underground emergency bunker.

The volcano's most deadly eruption occurred in 1930 when 1,370 people were killed. At least 66 people were killed in a 1994 eruption, mostly from the outpouring of superheated ash and other volcanic material.