JAKARTA GLOBE, Jakarta. Mount Merapi volcano in Central Java Province, Indonesia, has killed 240 people since it began erupting late last month, with more than 390,000 people in makeshift camps, an official said.
"The Merapi death toll has reached 240 people. And about 390,000 people have fled their homes," a disaster management official said on Saturday, updating the previous official toll of 206.
The official, who declined to be named, said the toll had risen after rescuers recovered more bodies in the central Java area where the volcano is located.
That figure continues to rise as people with severe burns die from their wounds and officials count those who have died from respiratory problems, heart attacks and other illnesses related to the blasts.
In addition, search operations continue for bodies buried under a thick layer of ash that shrouds whole villages. On Friday, soldiers pulled eight more bodies from around one hard-hit village, said Waluyo Rahardjo, who works for the search and rescue agency.
Evacuees Sign Waivers to Return Home
Despite being advised by volunteers not to do so, evacuees in Boyolali and Klaten, Central Java, left the evacuation shelters after Mount Merapi showed a decrease in activity.
About 600 evacuees left two shelters in Boyolali on Friday to return to their homes in the Selo and Cepogo subdistricts.
Volunteers at the shelters tried to persuade them to stay, but the evacuees were insistent. Those who wanted to leave were eventually made to sign a statement saying that they were leaving the shelters voluntarily.
“We will still monitor them and give them food aid because food is still scarce at the mountain slopes,” a volunteer told Metro TV.
Another shelter located in Tlogo village, Prambanan subdistrict, Klaten, was almost empty. Most of the 1,200 evacuees had returned to their homes, arguing that their cattle and fields were deserted. Officials at the shelter said that the evacuees could not be persuaded to stay so they had no choice but to let them leave.
In Bumiharjo village, farmers started working on their fields and feeding their cattle, convinced that Merapi would not erupt again.
Volcanic ash that has been emanating from Mount Merapi since its deadly eruption last week slowed on Friday, but experts warned that it remains dangerous.
However, the Volcano Investigation and Technology Development Institution (BPPTK) and Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) have not yet lowered the volcano's status from the current standby or danger levels.
Officials warned residents that less ash did not mean that the volcano was already safe.
“The activity of Merapi is still high, but the intensity of eruptions is reduced now. People should still be careful. Merapi is still on high alert,'' said state volcanologist Surono.
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