Java volcano stirs into life

JAKARTA - Indonesia prepared to evacuate thousands of villagers after a huge volcano in the heart of the densely populated island of Java started spewing smoke and lava.

Authorities have placed Mt Merapi, which overlooks the ancient city of Jogjakarta, on Orange Code - the second-highest alert level - following fears of an eruption due to an increase in the number of tremors.

"Due to a high level of tremor activities and the spewing of the lava, Mount Merapi is now on alert status," said Dali Ahmad, a volcanologist from the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.

The military have deployed more than 200 trucks and buses to evacuate villagers living on the slopes of Merapi, 460km west of Jakarta.

"We have conducted an evacuation drill and it appears that villagers have grown used to it," said a police official.

Merapi's last major eruption was in 1994 when more than 60 people were killed. One of its most destructive eruptions was in 1930, when 1300 died.

Many Indonesians see activity in Mt Merapi as an omen of a looming crisis. Thousands were evacuated in January 1997 when Merapi became more active, months before the Asian financial crisis struck.

- REUTERS