Officials brace for Indonesian volcano eruption

The order, which means they should not leave the districts, was issued “so evacuation and relief efforts can proceed smoothly,” said Agus, spokesman for one of the two areas who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Officials said that evacuation drills had been conducted in at least nine villages near Mount Kelut in the past week.

“There have been no significant changes, Kelut is still at the same alert status level,” said Agus Budianto, a geologist monitoring the mountain.

Mount Kelut has been placed on the second highest of four alert levels.

Budianto said it had been showing signs of increasing volcanic and seismic activities in past weeks, and that the state volcanology office had warned of an eruption at any time.

A district spokesman said the volcanology office warned that signs of an imminent blow-out were much stronger this time than preceding an eruption in 1990.

That was the last time the 1,731-meter (5,712-foot) volcano went off.

An estimated 15,000 people have been killed by the volcano in the last 500 years, including around 10,000 in a 1568 eruption.

Authorities have closed off a five kilometre (three-mile) zone around the crater of the mountain and told residents to prepare to evacuate at the first sign of any explosion.

Although Mount Kelut’s slopes are sparsely inhabited, its peak is a popular domestic tourist destination and overlooks a densely-populated plain.

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