Discovery of bodies takes volcano toll in Indonesia to 275

Thu, 18 Nov 2010

Jakarta - Rescue workers recovered more bodies on the slopes of Indonesia's Mount Merapi Thursday, bringing the death toll from its series of eruptions since last month to 275.

Soldiers, police and volunteers worked in two hamlets in the Cangkringan subdistrict in Central Java, searching for bodies buried under up to a 1-metre-deep layer of ash and other volcanic materials.

The death toll from the eruptions that started October 26 stood at 275 with more than 500 people injured, an official at the National Disaster Management Agency said.

The death toll was expected to rise further as more than 250 people living in the danger zones surrounding the volcano were still reported missing. About 300,000 people fled their homes and were living in emergency shelters, down from more than 380,000 late last week.

The head of the Center of Vulcanology and Geological Disasters Mitigation, Surono, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, said that while the eruptions' intensity is winding down, volcanic activity remained high. He said the threat of hot clouds and lava continued and warned the local communities to stay alert.

Merapi, located about 500 kilometers south-east of Jakarta, erupted for the first time in four years on October 26. Its biggest eruption in decades occurred on November 5.

The 2,968-meter volcano's deadliest eruption on record occurred in 1930, when 1,370 people were killed.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/354086,volcano-toll-indonesia-275.html.