Indonesian volcano spews more lava, smoke*

JAKARTA, Aug 20 (AFP) Aug 20, 2007

A rumbling volcano on a northern Indonesian island spewed lava and smoke
Monday, as authorities warned that searing clouds of debris could rush
down its slopes at any time.

Mount Karangetang, on the sparsely-populated island of Siau off North
Sulawesi, was put on its highest alert on Saturday, meaning an eruption
could occur at any time.

More than 500 people have been evacuated from two villages on the
volcano's slopes and were sheltering at a village hall and church to the
east of the volcano, the head of the police on Siau, Sutrisno, told AFP.

"The booming from the volcano was continuous between midnight on Sunday
and around four in the morning," Sutrisno said.

A member of staff from the vulcanology observation station on Siau said
in a short text message that the mountain continued to spew lava and hot
volcanic debris.

"Yes, it is still spewing smoke, lava flows and other debris, but
visually, the activities seem to be weaker," he said.

The vulcanology office's website said that lava and other debris began
oozing from the crater on Friday and had reached as far as 2,000 metres
down the slope.

"The accumulation of lava at the southern slope has the potential to
cause heat clouds," the office warned, referring to searing clouds of
volcanic material that rush down the slopes, burning everything in their
path.

Heat clouds emitted from the volcano killed three people when it last
erupted in 1997. Five years earlier, seven people were killed in a
similar fashion.

Mount Karangetang's last major eruption in 1974 forced the total
evacuation of Siau's population to a nearby island.