Indonesia Battered By Natural Calamity
By Arnab Ghosh, Gaea News NetworkWednesday, October 27, 2010
KALIADEM, INDONESIA (GaeaTimes.com)- Indonesia is battling to cope with the aftereffects of natural calamities now. The eruption of Mount Merapi which is rated as one of its most powerful volcanoes has killed over 28 people and left several others injured as per the latest update. It is located at the Java Island near the city of Yogyakarta. The volcano started erupting lava and gas after Indonesia was struck by a tsunami on Monday. The killer tsunami claimed more than 100 lives.
The authorities in Indonesia have been trying to evacuate over 11000 villagers who are on the slopes of the erupting volcano. A lot of houses near the volcano have been crushed and destroyed. Some of the victims who died were burned so badly that recognizing them proved to be an ordeal. It is being assumed that the number of injured and dead will go up with time. The trees near the crater of the volcano have been burnt completely. The cloud is so thick that the lava flow cannot be seen from a distance.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono the Indonesian President rushed back from Hanoi where he was supposed to take part in East Asian leader’s summit. He said in a statement that the emergency measures are in place and he will make sure the endangered villagers are evacuated in time. The villagers living close to the volcano earlier refused to evacuate saying that they would not leave the crops. The volcano has a history of earlier eruptions as well. In 1930 a blast ruined 13 villages and left almost 1000 people dead. The villagers who have left their homes are keeping their fingers crossed.
Tags: Earthquake, Indonesia, Kaliadem, Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta