Merapi Volcano

Update!

Airline flights have resumed to Indonesia as the Merapi Volcano continues to spew ash

11/11/10

The deadly Merapi Volcano spit out massive clouds of ash, but the capital had clear skies and that allowed flights in and out to resume their normal schedules Thursday.

Death toll rises to 140
Nov 8, 2010

SLEMAN, INDONESIA: Workers found six more bodies on the slopes of Indonesia's Merapi Volcano Monday, bringing the death toll to 140.

Soldiers, police and volunteers battled hot ash and other volcanic debris as they combed through villages near the Merapi Volcano searching for bodies and survivors from eruptions that began last month.

Among the three was an 81-year-old, blind and paralyzed woman who was left behind by her family. Her grandson Sumadi said he traveled back and forth on a motorcycle every day to give her food.

"We had to leave her behind because we preferred to evacuate other family members," Sumadi told DPA. "Even if she had to be brought to the evacuation centre she would then only become a burden for many. Merapi Volcano remains very active and hasn't seen this much activity since 1930.

Many villagers were seen riding motorcycles to their homes in the danger zone to retrieve belongings such as birdcages, mattresses and other items to use in the evacuation camps.

The official death toll since the eruptions began Oct 26 stood at 140.

Indonesia has 500 plus volcanoes, nearly 131 of them active and 68 classified as dangerous.

Mount Merapi Volcano, Gunung Merapi (literally Mountain of Fire in Indonesian/Javanese), is a conical type of volcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Merapi Volcano is the most active volcano in Indonesia and is currently erupting as of 11/3/10. Merapi Volcano has erupted regularly since early in 1548. It is very near to the city of Yogyakarta. Thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1705 m above sea level.

The name Merapi could be loosely translated as 'Mountain of Fire' from the Javanese combined words; Meru means "mountain" and api means "fire". Smoke can be seen emerging from the mountaintop at least 305 days a year, and several eruptions have caused loss of life. Hot gas from a large explosion killed 28 people on November 22 in 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the city of Yogyakarta had an earthquake. In light of the hazards that the Merapi Volcano poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

Map of Merapi Volcano

Geological history of Merapi Volcano

Merapi Volcano is the youngest in a group of volcanoes in the southern region of Java. It is situated at a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian Plate is sliding beneath the Eurasian Plate. It is one of at least 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire – a section of the fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and South East Asia. Stratigraphic analysis reveals that eruptions in the Merapi area began about 395,000 years ago, and from then until about 10,000 years ago, eruptions were typically effusive, and the outflowing lava emitted was basaltic. Merapi Volcano can be very destructive in nature.Since then, eruptions have become much more explosive, with viscous andesitic lavas often generating lava domes. Dome collapse's have often generated pyroclastic flows, and larger explosions, which have resulted in eruption columns, have also generated pyroclastic flows through column collapse.

Komodo Island Indonesia

The sea near Komodo Island offers beautiful colors and  marine life which will excite most divers and snorkelers alike as the many schools of fish ride the waterways rushing up from sea vents, below them the sea bed is covered with a massive carpet of colorful corals and marine invertebrates, an underwater photographers paradise.

The waters that are around the island are teeming with unparalled marine life. A marine reserve has recently been established and this reserve is largely undocumented and remains unexplored. Komodo National Park was established in 1981.

The corals in Komodo National park are pristine, with, sharks, turtles, dolphins, many pelagics, to the tiny pygmy seahorses, frog fish, you name it they have got it. The sites vary from gentle easy coral slopes to heart pounding rides, from the warm waters of the Flores Sea in the north to the colder waters down south in the Indian Ocean, the underwater terrain is so varied with sheer cliff walls, pinnacles, sandy flat bottoms, underwater plateaus, slopes, caves, swim-throughs, all with varying colours, sizes and types of coral both hard bright and soft.

Merapi Volcano in 1930's

Typically, smaller eruptions occur every two to three years, and larger ones every 10–15 years or so. Notable eruptions, often causing many deaths, have occurred in 1006, 1786, 1822, 1872, and 1930—when thirteen or more villages were destroyed and 1366 people killed by pyroclastic lava flows.

A very large eruption in 1006 - 1007 is claimed to have covered all of central Java with ash. The volcanic devastation is claimed to have led to the collapse of the Kingdom of Mataram, however there is insufficient evidence from that time period for this to be substantiated.

Merapi Volcano National park

In 2004 an area of 6,417 hectares around the Mount Merapi Volcano was established as a national park. The decision of the Ministry of Forestry to declare the park has been subsequently challenged  by The Indonesian Forum for Environment, on the grounds of lack of consultation with local residents. During the 2006 - 2007 eruption period of Merapi Volcano it was reported that many residents were reluctant to leave because they feared their residences would be confiscated to expand the Merapi Volcano National Park.

Merapi Volcano Erupting on 11/3/10

Quick Facts About Merapi Volcano: Indonesia's Mountain Of Fire
 
Indonesia's Mount Merapi Volcano is the nation's second most active volcano and has great spiritual significance for those living on it's slopes.

Merapi, which means "Mountain of Fire", typically has small eruptions every two to three years, and larger ones about once every 10 to 15 years or so.

Merapi Volcano's last major eruption was in 1994, when 66 people were killed. It also spewed smoke and lava in 2001 but no major eruption followed. It is currently in a state of major eruption as of 11/3/10.

Located about 252 miles east of Jakarta in Central Java province, Merapi Volcano looms over the Kedu plain and provides rich, bountiful soils for the thousands of people living around it.

Merapi Volcano holds particular significance for the Javanese as it is one of four places where officials from the royal palaces of Java's Yogyakarta and Solo make annual offerings to placate the spirits of ancient Javanese mythology.Merapi Volcano can be unpredictable.

Superstitious Javanese believe that a volcano's eruption is the result of spirits being angered by not receiving sufficient offerings or by a disrespectful attitude among the people living on or near it's slopes.

Traditional beliefs hold that the Merapi Volcano will only erupt after certain omens, some of which appear in dreams, leaving many residents reluctant to leave without them becoming apparent.

A new lava dome has been rapidly forming at the peak of 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) Mount Merapi, growing 75 metres in two weeks. The volcano was put on "stand-by" status one month ago.

Scientists often predict that the dome's collapse will spew red-hot lava as well as deadly nuees ardentes, a geological term for clouds of volcanic gases, ash, and dust, reaching temperatures up 930 degrees Fahrenheit.

Local authorities in the four districts around the volcano have already banned climbing near the Merapi Volcano's peak, halted sand mining operations at its foot and warned people living higher on its slopes to be prepared for evacuation many weeks ago.

Temporary shelters and vehicles have already been prepared for the evacuation, with many thousand's people evacuating voluntarily but many returning to their homes. Merapi Volcano is a major-active volcano.

Indonesia lies on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The nation is home to more than 131 active volcanoes.

In August 1883, the biggest natural phenomenon ever seen on earth took place when after lying dormant for 300 years Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano burst to life, showering debris on Java and Sumatra islands and killing 37,000 people. Merapi Volcano has been active on and off for thousands of years.

The noise of that eruption reached Australia and territories located more than 4,000 kilometers away, while waves reaching up to 40 metres laid to waste nearby islands and were felt as far away as the English Channel.