Post by cenydd on Aug 10, 2013 15:38:49 GMT
Six people have been killed in a volcanic eruption on a tiny island in Indonesia, officials have said.
Mount Rokatenda, on the island of Palue some 2,000km (1,250 miles) east of Jakarta, spewed ash and rocks 2km into the air.
Disaster officials said hot ash covered a nearby beach, leaving four adults and two children dead.
The volcano had been rumbling since late last year, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
A 3km exclusion zone was set up after an eruption last October.
But Surono, a spokesman from Indonesia's volcanology agency, said many villagers had become accustomed to the volcanic activity and ignored the mandatory evacuation order.
Palue has a population of some 10,000 people.
Mount Rokatenda, on the island of Palue some 2,000km (1,250 miles) east of Jakarta, spewed ash and rocks 2km into the air.
Disaster officials said hot ash covered a nearby beach, leaving four adults and two children dead.
The volcano had been rumbling since late last year, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
A 3km exclusion zone was set up after an eruption last October.
But Surono, a spokesman from Indonesia's volcanology agency, said many villagers had become accustomed to the volcanic activity and ignored the mandatory evacuation order.
Palue has a population of some 10,000 people.
As much as I'd personally love to witness an eruption, I think I'd be wise enough to steer clear if there was an exclusion zone in force (and thankfully eruption prediction has got to a point where that can often happen). It just goes to show how insignifiacnt we are in the fact of such natural forces, though.