Indonesian Volcano Journalists trapped on Mount Kelud

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Indonesians urged to flee volcano_

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sourced by Brian A Kennedy

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Red Alert for Volcano Kelut in JAVA

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Update: Another great site
 

Check this portal it is very cool and shows an animated danger flash.

Update:

Mt. Kelud Volcano OCHA Situation Report No. 3

[q
url="http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SHES-785SQW?OpenDocument&RSS20=03"]This
report is prepared by the UN Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator’s Office
in Jakarta based on the information provided by the National
Coordinating Agency for Disaster Management (BAKORNAS PB), the Team for
Volcanology and Geological Hazard Observation in Blitar, the Indonesian
Red Cross (PMI), OXFAM GB, and media reports.

SITUATION

1. The Team for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Observation in
Blitar reported today that the temperature of water in the crater
continues to increase, albeit slowly. The highest level of alert (level
4) is still in force.

2. The number of displaced people decreased from 22,154 on 17
October to 13,440 on day later, as the residents returned to their
villages to guard the property. As of 1900hrs on 18 October, there were
12,864 people displaced in Kediri District and 576 in Blitar district.
The evacuees are temporarily located in tented compounds in the cities
of Kediri and Blitar. The local governments are mobilizing the police
and army to ensure the safety and security of the people and their
properties in the villages that could be affected by the eruption.
OXFAM GB reported that the communities are erecting emergency shelters
outside their houses to be used at night and maintain vigilance.

3. Local authorities are focused on establishing stocks of food and
drinking water, as well as setting up water and sanitation facilities
in the evacuation points.

4. The joint UN assessment mission reported that the local
authorities have sufficient resources to respond to the imminent
eruption. However, if the eventual eruption is more powerful than
scientists predict, additional assistance may be required.

NATIONAL RESPONSE

5. BAKORNAS PB Chief Executive Officer (KALAKHAR) chaired a
coordination meeting of SATLAK PB in Blitar District on 18 October 2007
and emphasized the needs for command posts and temporary shelters with
supporting facilities. The local authorities prepared two Crisis
Centres in the Blitar and Kediri Districts.

6. SATKORLAK, as the coordination focal point for all entities
within the government, NGOs and international agencies, is conducting
daily coordination meetings in Kediri and Blitar Districts at 1900hrs
local time.

7. SATLAK PB set up 28 evacuation centres: 20 in Kediri and 8 in
Blitar District. PMI Kediri Branch is supporting SATLAK PB Kediri in
preparing meals for the IDPs.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

8. OXFAM GB is conducting a rapid assessment in Blitar District from 18 to 23 October.

9. WFP’s NGO partner in the region, YAPSI, is prepared to respond with emergency assistance if needed.

10. The UN HC/RC Office is closely monitoring the situation with
pertinent Government and non-government institutions including the
Indonesian Red Cross.

[/q]

[q
url="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/127399.html"]JAKARTA, Oct.
19 Rain storms near Mount Kelud trapped eight local and national
journalists on a mountain slope until Friday afternoon, officials said.

The journalists were urged to leave the mountain as tremors fueled
fears the volcano would erupt, Antara News reported. The eight were
trapped on a slope and had no transportation.

The Center for Volcanological and Geological Disasters Mitigation
said hundreds of volcanic tremors have been recorded in recent weeks.

Mount Kelud was placed on the country's second-highest alert in September after showing several signs it may erupt.[/q]

[q
url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071017/wl_nm/indonesia_volcano_dc"]"The
volcano is still on highest alert. I advise people to stay in the
shelters and to be patient," Surono, head of Indonesia's Centre for
Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told Reuters.

Another official said the number of volcanic quakes had dropped from
up to 500 on Tuesday to 61 on Wednesday morning, but said that did not
mean an eruption could be ruled out.

"In fact, it may erupt in two or three days after there are less
quakes, because the volcano may be storing energy for a blow out," said
Saut Simatupang, head of the vulcanological survey.

In Kampung Anyar, about 7 km from the crater and within a zone deemed by authorities as dangerous, many villagers were at home.

"It's not certain if Mount Kelud would ever go off. My parents and
my siblings are at home at the moment. I'm going off to see some
friends," said Marsudi, a resident in the village, who evacuated and
then returned to his home.

"Whenever we're asked to evacuate, we will do so. But we came back simply because nothing happened."

PLANTATION WORKERS

In another timber plantation area closer to the crater, three workers dressed in sarongs planted teak seedlings.

"We are not afraid, because the signs weren't there," said Sumilah,
adding that she believed signs of an eruption included loud noises made
by grasshoppers, starless night skies, very hot weather and dark rain
clouds.

Residents sheltering in the district of Kediri complained of inadequate supplies of food and water.

Many were also reluctant to leave behind possessions untended, particularly their animals.

An estimated 350,000 people live within 10 km of the volcano,
growing coffee, sugar cane, pineapples and papayas on the rich volcanic
soil or feeding their cattle on the slopes.

Sigit Rahardjo, a spokesman for the Kediri district government, said
some people were likely to return to the shelters later in the day.

"Last night we managed to evacuate 28,000 people, but some have returned to their homes because they think it's not going off."

When Kelud last erupted in 1990, at least 30 people were killed and
in 1919 about 5,000 died as it ejected scalding water from its crater
lake.

Indonesia, which sits on a belt of intense seismic activity known as
the Pacific Ring of Fire, has had a series of major volcanic eruptions
over the centuries.[/q]

Based on the seismic activity,
deformation, visual observation and the temperature of crater lake were
going up, So started at 17.15 WIB, 16 October 2007;  Kelut upgraded
from  alert level III (SIAGA) to alert level IV (AWAS)

[q
url="http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-asia/2007/oct/16/101604957.html"]JAKARTA,
Indonesia (AP) - Indonesian authorities on Tuesday ordered the
evacuation of nearly 30,000 people from the rumbling slopes of Mount
Kelud, warning of an imminent eruption from the volcano that killed
thousands in 1919.

All people living within six miles of the 5,679-foot peak must
evacuate, and authorities began transporting some out of the danger
zone, said Surono, a top scientist at the government-run volcanology
center who uses only one name.

Kelud has been rumbling for weeks, and it was placed on the highest
alert level, meaning scientists believe a major eruption is imminent,
according to the center's Web site.

One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, it last erupted in
1990 and is located on Java island, about 385 miles east of the
capital, Jakarta,

During a 1919 eruption, it destroyed about 100 villages and killed 5,160 people.

The volcano's explosive activity typically starts with a steam
explosion - when surfacing magma meets ground water. Such eruptions
produce hot mud flows, pyroclastic surges and flows.

Evacuation orders at Indonesian volcanoes are often haphazardly
enforced. Without compensating farmers for loses to crops or livestock,
it is difficult to force them to leave their villages. Another worry
for homeowners is thieves targeting empty properties.

Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" - a series of
volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere
through Japan and Southeast Asia.

[/q]

Kelut is an active stratovolcano on the east side of the island of
Java. The Chinese recorded five eruptions of Kelut in the 14th century.
Kelut has erupted 15 times in the last 200 years. The most recent
eruption, in 1990, was explosive and produced a large cloud and heavy tephra
fall. Tens of thousands of residents were evacuated before the eruption
started. At least 32 people were killed, most by the collapse of their
homes under the weight of tephra. More than 500 homes and 50 schools
were destroyed. Pyroclastic flows reached 4-5 miles (7-8 km) away from
the volcano. Fist-sized tephra fell 35 miles (55 km) southwest of the
volcano. Dense tephra reached at least 7 miles (12 km) above the
volcano. Subsequent lahars buried land used for agriculture. This
photograph shows the crater lake of Kelut volcano.