I saw the Mt. Merapi volcano (from a distance) when I visited Indonesia in 1986 and 1993. It's unfortunate that something so beautiful can be so dangerous, which can also be said about some people, I guess!

Indonesians defy order to leave volcano's fiery slopes

Last Updated Sun, 14 May 2006 12:58:17 EDT
CBC News

Thousands of people living near Mount Merapi in Indonesia's central Java province are defying orders to evacuate their homes as scientists warn that the volcano may erupt soon, officials said Sunday.

Experts have said that the volcano could suddenly spew massive amounts of superheated avalanches of lava as far as 2,300 metres from the crater at temperatures of 1,000 C.

Government authorities have said that more than 30,000 people living in the danger zones must flee. On Saturday, the country raised the alert status of Merapi to the highest level, also known as "code red" or "danger" status.

FROM MAY 13, 2006: Indonesian volcano primed to erupt, experts warn

But by Sunday morning, only about 10,000 people had left for dozens of makeshift shelters scattered throughout the districts of Magelang, Klaten, Boyolali and Sleman.

Despite the warnings and lava flows that have been cascading down Merapi's slopes, other people began returning home because they were worried about their animals and crops.

Some said they would look for more signs from nature to tell them when to leave. Others preferred to follow the advice of local mystics.

The volcano, which is on Java Island about 400 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, began its ominous rumblings several weeks earlier.

Indonesia has the world's highest density of volcanoes, with 500 located in a "Ring of Fire" along the 5,000-kilometre-wide archipelago nation. Of these, 128 are active.

Merapi last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.