15,000 flee rumbling volcano
Pastor Dale Morgan
15,000 flee rumbling volcano*
From correspondents in Indonesia
March 23, 2007 08:45pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
INDONESIA'S rumbling Mount Batutara volcano has triggered the evacuation
of about 15,000 people.
The villagers have left their homes on Lembata island, which lies in the
Flores Sea close to the restive volcano, local official Andreas Duli
Manuk said.
Groundwater in the two affected villages of Buyasuri and Omesuri had
suddenly turned salty, and there were rougher seas around the smoking
volcano's home on the nearby deserted island of Komba, he said.
Experts have raised Mt Batutara's alert level to the second of four
possible levels, but say an eruption is not imminent.
Fishermen and others who occasionally land on Komba have been warned to
stay at least two kilometres away.
Indonesia sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” where
continental plates meet, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.