Four adults and two children were killed when Mount Rokatenda suddenly erupted Saturday morning. The eruption blew volcanic rock over a mile into the air.
The volcano covered a beach with hot ash killing the six. Officials had issued a mandatory evacuation order for the area when the volcano began to show activity last year. An almost two mile exclusion zone was routinely ignored by locals who had begun to accept the rumbling of the volcano was just normal and believed no eruption was about to happen. Continue reading →
One of Indonesia’s most dangerous volcanoes shot a plume of ash and sand over half a mile into the sky forcing hundreds of villagers to flee into the night.
Mount Merapi, located near Yogyakarta, produced a short but massive rumbling before dawn Monday and spewed the ash cloud for hours. The ash fell as far as 8.5 miles from the volcano before activity ceased Monday afternoon. Continue reading →
Intense rescue operations are still underway after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake caused massive devastation to Indonesia’s Aceh province. Officials say that quake shook the ground for at least 15 seconds in some of the worst hit areas.
Officials say the death toll is 24 and very likely to rise with more than 200 confirmed injured in the quake. In addition to damage from the quake that included flattening houses, landslides buried other homes. Continue reading →
Attacks on Christians have been on the rise in Indonesia according to a report from Human Rights Watch.
HRW’s report, researched over a year between August 2011 and December 2012, showed that the government has made little attempt to stop Islamic extremists from taking violent action against Christians in the nation. The report states “harassment and intimidation of minority communities by militant Islamist groups has been facilitated by the active or passive involvement of Indonesian government officials and security forces”. Continue reading →
Heavy rains have caused flooding and landslides in Indonesia that has left at least 15 people dead.
A government official said that waters in the capital of the province of North Sulawesi are almost seven feet deep. Thousands have fled Manado as the waters and mud raced into the city. Continue reading →
A 6.0-magnitude quake was registered early on Tuesday off Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the Indian Ocean, Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics said. Continue reading →
Heavy flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has killed at least four people and left thousands driven from their homes.
Jakarta’s governor issued a state of emergency Thursday. Continue reading →
In an explosion heard three miles away, Indonesia’s Mount Lokon erupted on Sunday shooting a plume of deadly ash miles into the sky. Muddy rains have been falling in the surrounding areas since the eruption.
Scientists have been unable to detect the official height of the eruption because clouds are obscuring the mountain peak. Continue reading →
The Pacific Ring Of Fire had bookending earthquakes in the early morning. The first struck around 1 a.m. Central Time U.S. in the middle of the Gulf of California rocking awake residents of both Baja California and mainland Mexico.
The quake, centered approximately 63 miles southwest of Los Mochis, registered 6.0 on the Richter scale. Local officials reported that residents were panicking over the quake but that no major damage was reported. Continue reading →