Volcano on Indonesia's Java increases activity

Sep 30, 2007, 8:47 GMT

Jakarta - Government authorities warned residents living in the danger zones of Mount Kelud in Indonesia's crowded East Java on Sunday of possible danger activity by one of the world's dangerous volcanoes, local media reports said.

Local authorities in East Java's district of Kediri said dozens of military soldiers and police officers have been readied to evacuate residents following the raising of Mount Kelud's alert status to level three.

'The frequency of the tremors and crater's temperature of Mount Kelud volcano had continued to increase since Saturday,' said Umar Rosadi, head of the emergency response team from nearby Kediri district, about 600 kilometres south-east of Jakarta.

Rosadi said activity at Mount Kelud had increased in the past several days, adding that local government officials had spread leaflets advising residents to be ready to evacuate.

Vulcanologists issued recommendations for nearby residents, including a call that they should not conduct any activity in areas within 5-kilometres from its crater.

Deputy chief of Ngancar subdistrict military command Lieutenant Sukana told the state-run Antara news agency that 70 troops had been mobilized to help evacuate about 24,000 residents of six villages in danger zones.

The 1,731-metre volcano's most recent eruption was in 1990, when at least 22 people were killed.

Indonesia has the highest density of volcanoes in the world, with 500 located in a so-called 'Belt of Fire,' along the 5,000-kilometre wide archipelago nation. Of those, 128 are considered active and 65 - including Mount Kelud - are considered dangerous.