The Jakarta Post, 7/17/2007 12:12:52 PM
Indonesian villagers return to slopes of rumbling volcano
JAKARTA(AP): Thousands of villagers started returning to the slopes of a rumbling
volcano in eastern Indonesia on Tuesday after authorities lifted warnings of an
imminent eruption, government officials said.
The alert level for Mount Gamkonora, located in North Maluku province, was raised to
the highest level last week after the 1,635-meter volcano started spewing lava and hot
ash thousands of meters (yards) into the air.
Nearly 9,000 people living along its fertile slopes were moved to refugee camps, but
authorities said Tuesday that, with a sharp decrease in activity, it was safe to return
to within three kilometers of the peak.
"The status of Mount Gamkonora has been downgraded from the highest level,"
volcanologist Saut Simatupang said. "There appears to be no more threat of an
imminent eruption and we are recommendingthat residents return home."
Many villagers, eager to get back to their farms, were gathering belongings and
climbing into the back of military trucks early Tuesday, district spokesman Kalbi
Rasid said.
Mount Gamkonora, about 2,400 kilometers northeastof Jakarta, is one of at least 129
active volcanoes in Indonesia,the world's largest archipelago nation.
The country is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - a series of volcanoes and fault lines
stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. (***)
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