Monday, November 01, 2010

Another volcanic eruption in Indonesia

Aid organizations are having trouble getting aid to people of Indonesia who were victims of the twin disasters of a tsunami and a volcano. The disasters show no signs of slowing as Mount Merapi erupted again today. Experts are also cautioning of possible future eruptions from neighboring mountains.

From Reuters Alert Net, we receive this update on the situation.

Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted on Monday for the third time in a week, driving the number of refugees to almost 70,000, as the death toll from a tsunami thousands of kilometres to the west rose to 431, officials said.

The fresh eruption forced a thick ash cloud around 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) into the air above Merapi, which sits on the outskirts of Yogyakarta city in Central Java, and caused panicked residents to flee villages on the slopes of the mountain for safety shelters.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that 38 people have been killed and 69,533 evacuated since Merapi began erupting last week, while Indonesia's vulcanology agency warned that flights around Yogyakarta may be disrupted.

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