14 DAY TRIAL // We reported a week ago that Merapi was about to erupt. Back then, Indonesian officials hadn't decided yet to raise the alert level to its highest. Now they have.
"Merapi's alert status has been upgraded to the highest level of alert," said Jilal from the volcanology office in Yogyakarta, a university town 30 kilometers from the volcano. "The increasing volcanic activity has led us to make this decision."
The evacuation is now compulsory but many residents are still reluctant to leave. Traditional beliefs hold that Merapi - which means Mountain of Fire - will only erupt after certain omens, some of which appear in dreams, leaving many more superstitious residents reluctant to leave without them becoming apparent. Others are worried about their property, cattle and crops being taken if they depart.
Evacuation began
The volcano was raised to a "stand-by" alert level a month ago and its activity has escalated steadily since then. Right now, three out of the five districts around the slopes of Merapi are considered to be in the immediate danger zone.
Edy Susanto, head of Magelang district's evacuation agency, said they had begun evacuating some 7,000 residents living in eight villages on the western and southwestern slopes of Merapi. "We are trying our best not to cause panic among the residents but our main problem is some of these people refuse to be evacuated," Susanto told AFP. "Our main priority is for these people to be safely evacuated with the help of the armed forces, soldiers and police."
In the district of Sleman, disaster agency official Sapto said that the evacuation of more than 4,100 residents living in seven villages located about five kilometers from the crater was almost complete. "The volunteers are now just scouring for residents who might have been forgotten or refused to be evacuated," he told AFP.
In Klaten, there are at least 9,000 residents living in three villages nearest the mountain's peak, said Sukamto, from the district's evacuation agency. "These villages are very close to the crater. A total of 2,048 residents have been evacuated in trucks and the process will continue, although it's very slow," Sukamto told AFP.
The residents are to be taken to around 30 refugee shelters located across Magelang.
Indonesia's "Ring of Fire"
Indonesia has more than 100 active volcanoes - the highest concentration in the world. They are called the "Ring of Fire". Merapi's most deadly eruption happened in 1930, when 1,369 people were killed.
Now a lava dome is growing fast at the peak of Mount Merapi - it raised 75 meters in two weeks. Scientists foresee it will eventually collapse and release lava as well as large amounts of toxic gases, ash, and dust reaching temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.