Thousands flee Indonesia volcano

10/07/2007| IslamWeb

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the slopes of a volcano in eastern Indonesia after authorities warned it could be on the brink of a major eruption.

Mount Gamkonora, on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, started smoking on Saturday and has since been spewing clouds of hot ash and rocks.

At one stage, volcanic ash was sent as high as 4,000 metres into the air.

The area has been put on the highest state of alert, meaning authorities believe a major eruption could occur at any time.

Saut Simatupang, the head of Indonesia's Vulcanological Survey, told Reuters that activity had reduced somewhat on Tuesday, but that the volcano remained a threat.

"Less smoke does not mean the volcano is safe," he said.

About 8,000 people have been moved from nearby villages, but there have been no reports of damage of casualties so far.

The evacuees are being housed in temporary shelters.

Halmahera is about 2,400 km northeast of Jakarta.

The last time ash and smoke streamed out of Gamkorna was in 1987, when no casualties were reported.

The last major eruption of the volcano is said to have taken place in 1673.

Indonesia is regularly hit by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific's so-called "Ring of Fire", a series of fault lines stretching around much of the Pacific Rim.

PHOTO CAPTION

Ash and smoke spews from Mount Gamkonora in North Maluku province, about 2,400 km (1,491 miles) east of the capital Jakarta, July 10, 2007, in this video grab from Metro TV. (Reuters)

Al-Jazeera