Gunung Merapi eruption watch

21 April 2006 - In April 2006, the situation concerning Gunung Merapi gets more serious. The volcano is on eruption watch as scientists expect the volcano to erupt in one to two weeks from now. The pictures here show quiet foothills of Gunung Merapi after parts of the population have evacuated. Last update: 12 December 2006

		Where the kids play ... Where the kids play on one side of the square ...			... tents are set up Tents are being set up to bring shelter to the people that are being evacuated from the ...			Drinking water is brought in Fresh drinking water is being brought in in big trucks like this one. ...
		Communications A small communications post where an older man keeps watch. Next door is the local police station. ...			Evacuating cattle A villager tends to his cattle as Gunung Merapi is seen on the background, in Deles village ...			A full classroom Villagers gather in a classroom after leaving their village at the Kaliurang district. Authorities started evacuating hundreds ...
		Closed down The tourist object Telogo Putri is not closed, but tourists decide not to go anyway.The guy keeps ...			Waiting for a clear sky Gardu Pandang ...			Waiting for passengers Pool of public bus Kaliurang-Jogjakarta two ways. They don't get any passengers or tourists, just some local ...
		Where to go? The old guy told that his cows are his wealth, he doesn't want to leave them, but ...			On the way to Babadan On the road the the Babadan observation post ...			Ready to evacuate Evacuation trucks are on stand-by at many locations, ready to evacuate those villagers who didn't evacuate earlier ...
		Evacuation prepared Every truck is designated to bring villagers to a specified location. This one will bring those who ...			Nothing to see At the Babadan observation post, the weather is just as bad as elsewhere. A handfull of people ...			Drinking tea while waiting Employees from the observation post drink tea while they wait for more action ...
		Communication equipment With a not-too-modern set of equipment, the Babadan observation post keeps contact with other posts around Gunung ...			Seismograph With a computer screen attached to some cables and batteries, the seismograph for this observation post is ...			Inspection of the camp Some government employees come to the camp to check with the current status. It's still empty, but ...
		Emergency food Boxes of noodles are brought in to take care of some of the daily needs of those ...			Open kitchen For those who will spend some time in this camp, food will be prepared in this ...			On the field There is no floor in this kitchen. What will happen when many people go here to collect ...
		The real threat Of course the real threat isn't rain or a kitchen without a proper floor, it's this majestic ...			Army inspection Some military leaders (Pangdam) from Semarang (just north of Gunung Merapi) visit the camp in Dukun to ...			Evacuation coordination One of the handfull of coordination posts. This one is set up by the Social Department (DepSos ...
		Evacuation coordination And this one is from the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia). Both are still not very ...			Ready for action Military trucks are ready for action, parked in a straight line on the edge of the field. ...			Evacuation coordination And this coordination post is from the local military. Quiet as well for the time being. ...
		Beds are made Probably less comfortable than at home, but at least you don't have to sleep on the grass ...			Temporary toilet A temporary toilet made by the lokal army. Most of the stuff here is new now but ...			Smoking Merapi from a distance A view on the smoking Gunung Merapi. This picture is made from Dukun/Srumbung district in the Magelang ...
		Smoking Merapi from a distance A view on the smoking Gunung Merapi. This picture is made from Dukun/Srumbung district in the Magelang ...			Soldiers are prepared A handful of soldiers sits down in the makeshift housing they helped set up over the last ...			Still at work Villagers still continue working at the river. Mining stones and sand is assuring them of some income. ...
		Warning on a paper Allthough it's not a clear warning, this piece of paper informs you about the fact that the ...			Seismometer on a drum At the Ngepos observatory, this seismometer keeps track of the movements in and around the volcano. Every ...			Making plans At the Ngepos observatory, some staff draws plans. ...
		A glimpse of Merapi From one of the tourist locations around Gunung Merapi, Deles Indah, you can have a nice view ...			A clear view On a clear day, from this point of view in the village of Karangnongko (between Klaten and ...			Small plume On an almost clear sky you can see Gunung Merapi is now exhausting just a little bit. ...
		Quick construction Roads are being repaired in the highest possible pace in some areas that are under the evacuation ...			Posko PDI-P Where there are people, there are political parties to jump in, it's not different here. This is ...			Posko PKB A slightly smaller command center for the PKB (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera), because the party ...
		Posko PD Partai Demokrat is an even smaller political party, so they don't have a closed tent, but just ...			Posko Golkar Golkar is involved as well. They also call this event 'the Merapi disaster'. However it's far from ...			Telecommunication This small telecommunications post in the Kemalang area (Klaten district) is staffed and running to keep contact ...
		Women sitting down A small group of evacuated elderly women are just waiting what will happen next. ...			Kids are waiting as well The little kids are also hanging around. There is not much to play, the only thing they ...			Enough water available Big piles of boxes are stacked here. It's just simple water, but quite essential to have in ...
		School doesn't stop These kids follow classes on another location than they used to. Over thirty primary schools and kindergartens ...			Stuck together As it looks now, these people will be stuck together for the time being, the time it ...			Spending time With smoking a kretek (clove) cigarette, this elderly man spends his time in a refugee camp in ...
		Evacuating livestock Some trucks don't evacuate people from villages. Livestock is an important part of the economy in villages ...			What's this? This picture is taken in one of the camps in the Kemalang area (Klaten district). What's behind ...			Makeshift toilets Makeshift toilets, that's what behind the bamboo fences. Because people eat, they also have to to the ...
		Smoking volcano At a clear sky, Gunung Merapi is exhausting some smoke. Yesterday the volcano also exhausted some volcanis ...			Tourists at Ketep On weekdays it's never very crowded at the tourist spots around Gunung Merapi, but this day was ...			New road sign Together with the improvement of the main road in this area, a small road through some villages, ...
		Construction continues All of a sudden people are working hard to finish some roads that haven't been maintained for ...			Seismic activitiy At the Babadan observation post, the observers keep a close eye on the volcano. This seismometer has ...			Returning home Some villagers of Balerante village (Kemalang district in Klaten) have returned home. Some of the people got ...
		Working again People who returned to their villages in the Balerante area, started working in the Kali Woro excavation ...			View on Gunung Merapi The volcano where it's all about. Gunung Merapi in the early morning. As usual the volcano is ...			Sultan Hamengku Buwono X visits Sultan Hamengku Buwono X visits a command center for the 'Merapi disaster' ...
		Sultan Hamengku Buwono X visits Sultan Hamengku Buwono X visits a command center for the 'Merapi disaster' ...			Temporary warung Temporary warung (food stals, small shops) are constructed near the walls of the command center compound in ...			Sampoerna as sponsor The SAR-team (Search and Rescue) that is set up, is clearly sponsored by Sampoerna, a cigarette brand. ...
		Open for tourists The tourist locations around Kaliurang ...			Back to work People get back to work in the Cangkringan forest. They know the Merapi volcano is active, but ...			A full crater A view ot the now filled crater. On the inside lava-lakes have formed in the recent weeks, ...
		School in Balerante Children in Balerante village (Klaten district) are back in school again. However Gunung Merapi didn't erupt yet, ...			Temporary warung Since the tourist areas around Kaliurang saw their visitor number drop dramatically, people who own small shops ...			Almost finished The new shops near Kaliurang are almost finished now, after just more than a week of preparation ...
		Lava spills from the crater High alert: lava spills from Mount Merapi. ...			Pyroclastic flows The Merapi volcano releases a huge cloud of hot gas, as seen from Pakem village on the ...			On the watch Indonesians watch as lava flows down the side of Mount Merapi. The region is on the highest ...
		Pyroclastic flows Molten lava streams from the lava dome Sunday. Once the lava dome collapses, there can be weeks ...			Lava spills from the crater Lava spills from Merapi's crater Saturday. The United Nations says an eruption could displace as many as ...			Hot clouds A villager watches as clouds of hot gas are ejected from Mount Merapi. The highest-risk area has ...
		Mount Merapi at night Hot lava flows from Mount Merapi volcano as seen from Cangkringan village near the city of Yogyakarta, ...			Mount Merapi at night Hot lava flows from Mount Merapi volcano as seen from Cangkringan village near the city of Yogyakarta, ...			Flowing lava Hot lava flows from Mount Merapi's slope in this picture taken from Tunggularum, Girikerto, Sleman, near Yogyakarta, ...
		Declining activity Lava flows on the slope of Mount Merapi as seen from Tunggul Arum, Sleman, Yogyakarta. Activity at ...			Hot cloud comes down Mount Merapi is seen erupts as seen from Cangkringan, near Yogyakarta. The rumbling volcano remained a danger ...			Purnomo Yusgiantoro visits Merapi volcano Minister of Energy and Mineral Power Purnomo Yusgiantoro visited Gunung Merapi earlier today to be updated about ...
		New outflow of debris A new outflow of volcanic debris on the southern slope of the Merapi volcano can clearly be ...			New outflow of debris A new outflow of volcanic debris on the southern slope of the Merapi volcano can clearly be ...			Situation Kaliadem 11 November This file photo from 11 November 2006 shows a thick layer of debris in the Kaliadem rivervalley ...
		Situation Kaliadem 12 December This picture made this afternoon shows what several heavy downpours have created. They caused the loose material ...