Indonesia’s Merapi Volcano’s Biggest Eruption Forces More to Evacuate

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi exploded with three times the force of the October 26 eruption. This latest blast is the largest since the volcano began erupting over a week ago.

"This is an extraordinary eruption, triple from the first," state volcanologist Surono told the Associated Press.

In response to the new eruption, Indonesian officials have increased the evacuation zone from 10 to 15 kilometers, and have raised the volcano’s status to “crisis” condition.

Heavy rain, mixing with the expanding ash clouds, has impeded evacuations. Oka Hamid, a spokesman from Red Cross Indonesia, told Bloomberg that 3000 people were still trapped inside the danger zone.

The Indonesian army has been called out to help with the evacuations, while Red Cross workers were using “trucks, motorcycles, anything that can move people to a safer distance,” Hamid said.

The eruptions have killed 42 people, mostly in the initial eruption, Agam Ferdhatama, an official the National Disaster Management Agency told Bloomberg.

The volcano has also done huge environmental damage, the Jakarta Post reports. Mount Merapi national Park has been buried by volcanic ash and hot lava. Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan told the Jakarta Post that 3,500 hectares of the 6,400-hectare park had been damaged.

In addition to the damage in the park, another 2300 hectares have been burned in surrounding areas.

“We’re waiting for the volcanic activity to subside before we start reforesting the area, which will take at least five years until it’s back to normal,” Zulkifli said. “It will cost about Rp 15 million [US$1,700] to restore each hectare of damaged forest.”