14 DAY TRIAL // At 450 kilometers from Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, there is a 2900 meter volcano. Scientists are monitoring the volcano and have said that it will probably erupt with heavy flows of lava and hot clouds of toxic gas, rather than in a single cataclysmic explosion.
The volcano is in a highly populated area of the island of Java and about 5,000 residents have already fled their homes. However, most of the 30,000 villagers nearby remain at home, unconvinced that an eruption is imminent, although scientists have reported that a large dome of lava, formed by molten rock agitating to the surface, is growing quickly at the peak.
Last week the Merapi volcano began ejecting molten lava and thick white smoke, signaling what may be the final stage before a full-scale eruption. According to a volcanologist quoted by AFP sixty-seven lava flows have been measured since Sunday night, some as long as 100 meters long, and pillars of smoke are rising around 800 meters high.
Eventually the officials may raise the alert level, which would make evacuations mandatory but insofar they haven't decided to do so. "We are still in the process of studying all scientific data that we have obtained before we can decide whether or not the alert status should be upgraded," said Tryani, the volcanologist interviewed by AFP.
Photo credit: National Geographic