Indonesia volcano erupts, sends gas clouds and rocks down flanks; activity prompts evacuations

(AP) Mount Merapi erupted violently Monday, sending searing gas clouds and burning rocks down its scorched flanks and threatening villagers who refused to leave because of ancient mystical beliefs.

The activity triggered renewed panic and fresh evacuations of some closest to the crater, but others ignored urgent warnings to leave.

The volcano in the heart of densely populated Java Island had been rumbling for weeks, spewing ash high into the air and pushing lava to the surface, where it has formed a large unstable dome.

On Saturday, authorities declared the highest danger alert, triggering mandatory evacuations for some 4,500 residents.

A sharp increase in activity Monday saw near hourly surges of clouds containing volcanic gas, rock fragments and other debris that tumbled as far as 2.5 miles down the mountain's western slopes _ twice as far as a day earlier, volcanologists said.

"I am panicking this time," said Katimi, a mother of three and one of thousands who boarded vans and trucks to seek shelter in mosques, government buildings and schools. "Merapi appears angry," she said.

Hospitals and clinics were preparing for the worst.

Merapi, the most active of 129 live volcanoes in Indonesia, sent out a deadly cloud of gas that incinerated 60 people in 1994, and about 1,300 people died in a 1930 eruption.

"We are prepared for some of the things that we may deal with, (from our experience) in the previous eruption in 1994 _ treating burn injuries caused by the hot clouds, and also treating broken bones," said Ning, the head of a local medical center. Like many Indonesians, he uses one name.

The clouds of volcanic ash, gas and debris, known to experts as pyroclastic flows, are the biggest threat to residents, who are drawn to Merapi's slopes because its fertile volcanic soil makes for bumper crops.

"They are like a glowing avalanche that just incinerate everything in their path," said Lynton Jaques, from Australia's geoscience agency. "There is a real risk for people living on its flanks."

Scientists warn the unstable lava dome could collapse, sending out a deadly cloud of gas like the one in 1994.

Residents call the clouds "Wedhus Gembel," or "shaggy sheep clouds," because they resemble tightly curled balls of wool as they avalanche down the mountain at speeds of more than 60 mph.

Widi Sutikno, the official coordinating the government's emergency operation, commended those who recognized the danger and left Monday.

"I guess they didn't want to die after all," he said.

Yet about 200 villagers living within the danger zone refused to budge.

An 80-year-old man appointed by the nearby royal court as the volcano's spiritual guardian said he was not leaving, even though his house is within the mandatory evacuation zone. He said he believed the spirits that watch over the volcano would let him know if he was in danger.

"There is no risk," Maridjan said outside his home four miles from the crater. "I am still waiting here."

Maridjan was given the official title of "key holder of Mount Merapi" by the late king of the nearby court city, Jogjakarta. He leads yearly ceremonies when rice and flowers are thrown into the crater to appease spirits that he and most nearby villagers believe live over the mountain.

Maridjan's refusal to leave is angering local authorities in charge of evacuation efforts. They say he is setting a bad example and stopping other villagers from leaving.

"Only God knows what will happen. We can only ask for his protection," said Riskani, as her 8-year-old son played with toy trucks in a dusting of volcanic ash that fell on the village Monday.

"If it gets worse, we will leave. But for now, we are staying in this village," she said.

Although most Indonesians are Muslim, many also follow animist beliefs and worship ancient spirits. At full moon, they may trek to the crater's rim to throw in rice, jewelry and live animals.

Some 18,000 people on the mountain's lowest slopes have not been ordered to leave, but could be in coming days.