Thousands of Indonesians Refuse to Leave Volcano Danger Zone

TANAH KARO, Indonesia — Jun 16, 2015

By BINSAR BAKKARA and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press

A woman watches as Mount Sinabung releases pyroclastic flows in Tiga Serangkai, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. Authorities have been closely monitoring Sinabung since June 2 when its status was raised to the highest alert level due to the growing size of its lava dome. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

The Associated Press

Thousands of villagers are refusing to leave their homes on the slopes of one of Indonesia's most volatile volcanoes despite warnings that it is poised for a powerful eruption.

Mount Sinabung, one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, has been at the highest alert level for nearly two weeks. On Tuesday, at least 48 avalanches of hot ash barreled down its slopes, with the biggest reaching 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeastward. The volcano in northern Sumatra, one of Indonesia's main islands, has also been shooting smoke and ash more than 700 meters (2,300 feet) into the air.

Several thousand people, including women carrying babies in slings, have left the mountain in police trucks since Monday after the volcanic activity intensified over the weekend. Some streamed down the scorched slopes on motorcycles, their faces caked in ash.

But Subur Tambun, who heads the local disaster mitigation agency, said only 10,000 of about 33,000 people living within the main danger zone have moved into tent camps or government buildings a safe distance from the volcano. No injuries have been reported from the recent eruptions.

"The villagers insisted on tending crops," Tambun said. "They are confident of being able to escape a major eruption. All we can do is ask them to leave."

The 2,460-meter (8,070-foot) Mount Sinabung has erupted sporadically since 2010, when it caught scientists off guard and blew after being quiet for four centuries. Last year, a powerful explosion heard hundreds of kilometers (miles) away destroyed villages around its slopes and killed at least 17 people.

For days, authorities have pleaded with villagers in the main danger zone, which stretches 7 kilometers (4 miles) to the south and southeast of the peak, to move to the temporary shelters, but have faced resistance.

"We have lost our vegetables, but not coffee," said Sapta Sembiring Palawi from Gambir village, about 4.7 kilometers (3 miles) from the smoldering peak. "Coffee has let us survive and we have to take care of it now." Palawi, a grandfather, is one of about 200 people from the village who have refused to move to government shelters.

The reluctance of people to leave their homes despite danger is common in the sprawling archipelago nation. It has more volcanoes than any other country and is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the "Ring of Fire" — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

More than 150,000 people live along the slopes of Mount Sinabung, taking advantage of its fertile soil to grow chilies, oranges, cocoa and coffee.

Despite warnings, some evacuees returned home Tuesday to tend their crops and livestock.

"We are worried, but we have to see our house and to clean up the ash from our farm," said Yapti Sitepu, who was evacuated to a temporary shelter on Monday.

More than 2,000 people forced to move by last year's eruption are still living in temporary houses rented by the government while they wait for permanent relocation. Their villages are now uninhabitable.

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Karmini reported from Jakarta.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/thousands-indonesians-refuse-leave-volcano-danger-zone-31794407

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Jun 16, 2015

Light ashfall points to volcano eruption in central Japan; no damage reports

TOKYO

A light scattering of ash pointed to an eruption of the most active volcano on Japan's main island of Honshu, weather authorities said on Tuesday, warning against further eruptions, although no injuries or damage were reported.

The small eruption at the 2,570-m (8,425-ft) high Mount Asama, about 140 km (90 miles) from the capital, Tokyo, comes at a time of heightened volcanic activity in Japan and less than a year after 63 people died in the eruption of another peak.

Asama's last eruption, in 2009, ran for several months, during which it intermittently ejected rocks up to 1 km (0.6 miles) away, and sent up a massive cloud of ash, some of which drifted as far as Tokyo.

No plume of smoke or ash could be detected from the current eruption, however, as heavy clouds shrouded the volcano's peak, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

But reports of light ashfall 4 km (2.5 miles) away, coupled with higher readings from temperature sensors, suggested the volcano had erupted, it added.

Japan, which lies on the Pacific Rim of Fire, has 110 active volcanoes and monitors 47 of them around the clock.

A growing number of volcanic earthquakes and the detection of some volcanic gases had prompted the agency to raise the warning level on Asama last week, to keep people out of a range of 2 km (1.2 miles) from the summit.

On May 29, a volcano erupted suddenly on the remote southwestern island of Kuchinoerabujima, blasting a plume of ash and smoke thousands of meters into the sky and forcing residents to flee for safety to a nearby island, where they remain.

Last September, Japan suffered its worst volcanic disaster in nearly 90 years, when 63 people were killed on Mount Ontake. Six still remain unaccounted for, and a search for them is expected to resume in July.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/16/us-japan-volcano-idUSKBN0OW0A220150616

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While neighboring Bulusan blows steam, Mayon Volcano stable, says PHIVOLCS

By: Tricia Aquino, InterAksyon.com
June 16, 2015

Mayon Volcano, now peaceful, is seen from a distance, its beauty partly shrouded in clouds. (Tricia Aquino, InterAksyon.com)

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

LEGAZPI CITY - Even as Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon emitted a steam and ash column Tuesday morning, PHIVOLCS assured the public on Tuesday that neighboring Albay's Mayon Volcano, where lava flow was seen last year, was stable.

At a media briefing in the Albay Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council Disaster Operation Center, senior resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology senior said, though, that Mayon had not yet returned to its normal state prior to August last year. That time, a "lava dome" 30 to 50 meters high was first seen, and volcanic sulfur dioxide flux increased.

It was feared then that an eruption would occur.

In September, the volcano was placed under Alert Level 3, when incandescent rockfall was observed and volcanic earthquakes increased.

An explosive eruption did not materialize, however. Only lava flow took place in October.

Since then, the alert level has been lowered to Alert Level 2, or "moderate unrest," which is characterized by a low to moderate level of seismicity, an increase in sulfur dioxide flux, a swelling of the edifice, and a faint crater glow.

"The Mayon Volcano still has some abnormality. It still hasn't returned to what it was before," Laguerta said. "It is stationary now. We are now assessing whether Alert Level 2 would warrant to be lowered."

He said they were inclined to lower the alert level to Alert Level 1, which is characterized by "low level unrest." This means there is a slight increase in volcanic earthquakes and steam or gas activity as compared to normal. However, there is no eruption imminent. Entry into the permanent danger zone is still forbidden.

A volcano seismic monitoring system is in place, where instruments mounted in the vicinity of the volcano detect seismic signals, then transmit this to the Mayon Observatory Data Receiving Station, which then transmits this to the PHIVOLCS main office via satellite.

Laguerta also assured the public that the instruments PHIVOLCS used on Mayon were "all applications in geodetics, geochemistry, geophysics, remote sensing, and all other available instruments for monitoring volcanoes."

Recently, PHIVOLCS also had markers painted on a six- to 11- kilometer radius around Mayon as a guide for evacuation.

The agency also has a guide for residents near volcanoes. On its website, PHIVOLCS lists these commonly observed signs that a volcano is about to erupt.

"These precursors may vary from volcano to volcano," PHIVOLCS noted. The signs:

1. Increase in the frequency of volcanic quakes with rumbling sounds; occurrence of volcanic tremors.

2. Increased steaming activity; change in color of steam emission from white to gray due to entrained ash.

3. Crater glow due to presence of magma at or near the crater.

4. Ground swells (or inflation), ground tilt, and ground fissuring due to magma intrusion.

5. Localized landslides, rockfalls, and landslides from the summit area not attributable to heavy rains.

6. Noticeable increase in the extent of drying up of vegetation around the volcano's upper slopes.

7. Increase in the temperature of hot springs, wells (e.g. Bulusan and Canlaon) and crater lake (e.g. Taal) near the volcano.

8. Noticeable variation in the chemical content of springs, crater lakes within the vicinity of the volcano.

9. Drying up of springs/wells around the volcano.

10. Development of new thermal areas and/or reactivation of old ones; appearance of solfataras.