Indonesian Scientists Put 11
Volcanoes Under Alert
From Correspondents in Jakarta
Agence France-Presse
4-17-5
Indonesian scientists have placed 11 volcanoes under close watch
after a series of powerful quakes awoke intense subterranean forces and
increased the chances of a major eruption.
As tens of thousands spent a third night in temporary camps after
fleeing the slopes of Mount Talang on Sumatra island, where hot ash has
been raining down since Monday, more volcanoes began rumbling into life.
Late Wednesday, Anak Krakatau - the "child" of the legendary
Krakatoa that blew itself apart in 1883 in one of the worst-ever natural
disasters - was put on alert status amid warnings of poisonous gas
emissions.
No one lives on Krakatoa, a small island in the Sunda Strait
between Java and Sumatra, but the peak is a popular tourist spot,
attracting both Indonesian and foreign day trippers.
A similar warning was earlier issued for Tangkuban Perahu, near
the west Java city of Bandung. Next week the city will host more than 50
heads of state, including China's president, at a summit of Asian and
African leaders.
Isya Nur Ahmad Dana of Indonesia's Vulcanology Office said Mount
Merapi, 70km north of the Sumatran city of Padang, had been on alert since
last August, but along with seven other peaks was now under closer watch.
"The status of Tangkuban Perahu in west Java and Krakatau in the
Sunda Strait have both been raised from 'normal' to 'alert' on Wednesday
following an observed increase in volcanic activities," Dana said.
Amid growing fears of an imminent disaster in the wake of recent
powerful earthquakes and last year's devastating tsunami disaster, the
government has urged people to remain calm.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono travelled to an area near
Talang, 25km east of Padang, to meet some of the more than 20,000 people
who have fled villages on the fertile slopes of the smoking peak.
His deputy Yusuf Kalla also warned people living near other active
volcanoes to take precautions and urged local officials to make
contingency plans in anticipation of an eruption.
"We call on the people to really be alert," he said.
Indonesia has 130 active volcanoes, forming part of the Pacific
Ring of Fire - an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from
quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
The archipelago nation's proximity to the junction of three
continental plates, which jostle under immense pressure, makes it
particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and eruptions.
A massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake on December 26 triggered the
Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people. A second quake
of 8.7 on the Richter scale from the same faultline killed at least 670
people last month.
Scientists have warned of a possible third disaster, either a
quake or an eruption from a so-called super volcano, such as the giant
crater in which Lake Toba in Sumatra is located, where increased activity
has also been recorded.
Mount Talang, a 2599m volcano that last erupted in 2003, remains
on standby for eruption with scientists unable to determine if the peak
was beginning to calm down.
"Our team is still studying the data on site and we cannot yet say
whether the activities of Mount Talang have slowed down or energy is
building up for a bigger eruption," Dana said.
But he said there were no immediate moves to evacuate people
around Tangkuban Perahu, which straddles the territories of two districts
and the city of Bandung, with a total population of some 7.5 million
people.
One prominent Indonesian seismologist meanwhile expressed doubt
that the volcanic activity was linked to recent tremors as quakes were
linked to tectonic friction while eruptions were due to an accumulation of
molten magma.
"Theoretically, it can happen and there is a relationship, but the
correlation is not 100 percent and it rarely occurs," said Sarwidi, head
of seismology studies centre at Indonesia's Islamic University in
Yogyakarta.
In the latest earth tremor, a 5.8-magnitude quake was recorded on
Sumatra island, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
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| User: "The Psychedelic Pope - Saint Isadore of Laytonville - Patron Saint of the Internet" |
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| Title: Re: Indonesian Scientists Put 11 Volcanoes Under Alert |
18 Apr 2005 06:36:51 PM |
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If they all go together -- that could cause problems of great
importents even in my area - here in Northern California. I think
it's time to trade in all my Euro dollars for
supplies and put a new coat of flame proof
paint on my bunker door.
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| User: "Heya Ramdis Upyoz" |
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| Title: Re: Indonesian Scientists Put 11 Volcanoes Under Alert |
18 Apr 2005 07:29:41 PM |
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"The Psychedelic Pope - Saint Isadore of Laytonville - Patron Saint of the
Internet" <tadapope@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1113867411.695198.218760@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
If they all go together -- that could cause problems of great
importents even in my area - here in Northern California. I think
it's time to trade in all my Euro dollars for
supplies and put a new coat of flame proof
paint on my bunker door.
I'm sandwiched between the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, and continental
plates--with a chain of snow-capped volcanoes nearby.
They tell us we haven't had a Cascadia Fault subduction quake since
January 1700, when one hit about 9 on the Richter scale, sending a tidal
wave across the Pacific, striking Japan.
Such a mega-thruster today would result in tens of thousands of deaths,
hundreds of thousands of injuries.
And the immediate end of the internet as we know it.
Doc ;])
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