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116,000 Ordered Away From Volcano

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By INDRA HARSAPUTRA, The Associated Press

Published: October 20, 2007

MOUNT KELUD, Indonesia - Tens of thousands of people were ordered by police - some at gunpoint - to leave their homes on the slopes of one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes Friday after a series of underground tremors heightened fears of an imminent eruption.

Scientists raised the alert at Mount Kelud to the highest level this week, pointing to sharply rising temperatures in the lake of its crater and violent rumbling beneath.

There was an hourlong spike in the underground tremors and temperature on Friday when gas or magma tried to break through the crater lake, said Surono, a government volcanologist who goes by one name. The activity then subsided.

'Anything could happen anytime now,' he said, noting that a similar pattern emerged days before the last major eruption in 1990. 'I afraid pressure behind the magma will build up again and that next time it will explode.'

The 1990 eruption of Mount Kelud, on Indonesia's densely populated island of Java, killed dozens. In 1919, a powerful explosion of the volcano destroyed dozens of villages and killed at least 5,160 people.

Authorities ordered 116,000 people living along the volcano's fertile slopes to leave their homes Friday, but many have refused, saying they needed to tend to their crops and animals and protect against possible looting.

Police forced many people to leave at gunpoint, calling the situation 'critical.'

'If we didn't force them - in this case with a showing of firearms - the villagers would not budge,' said police chief Col. Tjuk Basuki, adding that residents have been repeatedly warned about the danger. 'We had no choice but to do this for their safety.'

Sugeng Walujo, a 37-year-old villager, said he does not plan to leave.

He, like many others, thinks he will be protected if he follows the guidelines of an ancient myth.

'If I don't scream for help or turn on any lights, the lava and ashes will not reach my home,' he said. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

Many people who left the mountain were staying in temporary shelters along its base.

The United Nations said Friday that the World Health Organization has activated 100 medics, put 200 health facilities on alert and established 41 outreach health posts because of the volcano. Emergency health kits, masks and other equipment were distributed.

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