Indonesia to force residents to evacuate Mount Kelud volcano

Agus Budianto, of the Centre for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, said from the nearby monitoring post that Mount Kelud spewed thick, white smoke and ash up to 500 metres into the air.

Budianto also said constant volcanic tremors continued as the temperature of its lake water had risen drastically.

Warning of an imminent major eruption, government authorities said they would force residents to evacuate the slopes of the volcano in the densely populated East Java province.

"Compulsory evacuation is to be conducted in order to avoid fatalities," Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

Experts said monitoring instruments showed Mount Kelud had erupted after deep tremors and small explosions shook one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes.

News of the apparent eruption on Saturday afternoon triggered panicked evacuation for scores of people from the mountain in police trucks and on motorcycles, television footage shows.

However, scientists retracted their statement several hours later, saying that the 1,731-metre volcano had not erupted yet.

Many residents returned to their homes, defying warnings from volunteers and government security officials.

Senior volcanologist Surono, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said tremors from inside the volcano's crater continued to increase Sunday morning.

"I cannot predict when a major eruption will take place," he said. "But, latest indications signalled there will be one soon." 

He estimated as many as 116,000 people have to be evacuated from the slopes of volcano as scientists fear that a buildup of magma under Mount Kelud's crater lake could trigger a violent blast, sending a torrent of mud, ash and rock careering down the side of the volcano.

Experts from the nearby monitoring post said the water temperature in the volcano's 15-metre deep crater reached a new record of 76 degrees Celsius on Sunday afternoon, rose sharply from 66.1 degrees Celsius several hours earlier. Ahead of the its last major eruption in 1990, the temperature of its water lake reached 40 degrees Celsius.

Volcanologists explained that the crater's temperature was one of many indicators used to predict an eruption and that others, such as tremors and deformation of the volcano, were also increasing.

In the nearby Kediri district, a total of 38,170 residents living in radius of 10 kilometres from the craters would have to be evacuated to the temporary shelters, but some 25,000 of them defied calls, spokesman Sigit Rahardjo said.

"We will use persuasive ways as a priority measure to evacuate them to the makeshift shelters. Evacuation efforts continue underway," Rahardjo said.

In the adjacent district of Blitar, a local police chief had been ordered to evacuate all residential areas in the danger zones, "by force if necessary," said Sukamtono, the district administration's spokesman.

"We can no longer tolerate those refusing the evacuation order." 

Located around 600 kilometres south-east of Jakarta, Mount Kelud was raised to the highest alert level on October 16, forcing authorities to evacuate thousands of residents.

In 1919, Mount Kelud experienced a powerful eruption that destroyed dozens of villages and killed at least 5,160 people. It last erupted in 1990, killing more than 30 people.

Indonesia has the world's highest density of volcanoes, with 500 located in the "Pacific Ring of Fire," where seismic and volcanic activity is common. Nearly 130 cones are active and 65, including Kelud, are listed as dangerous.

//DPA