Schools shut near rumbling Indonesian volcano

BLITAR, Indonesia-Indonesian authorities have closed dozens of schools around a simmering volcano on Java island in anticipation of a likely eruption, an official said Tuesday."We have asked that the schools be temporarily closed and that schooling be moved to temporary safe shelters," said Kamtono, a local government spokesman.The 1,731-metre (5,712-foot) Mount Kelut peak in densely-populated East Java was put on red alert last week following an escalation in seismic activity.About 130,000 people live in the 10-kilometre (six-mile) radius danger zone, but many have refused to leave or are only staying in shelters at night.Kamtono said that schooling for the some 10,000 students from the 49 affected schools would be held in shelters set up for the displaced.While the official advice is to evacuate, local governments have not acted to close businesses, markets or stop other activities in the zone.Gatot Subandi, who heads one of the emergency response teams, said that the temporary shelters were only full at night."Only the elderly, children and some women stay at the camps during the day. All able men and some women return to their homes in the daytime to guard their homes or tend to their fields," Subandi said.Some of the men also spend the nights guarding their homes, he added."They have all been told what to do in case of an eruption, including the path they have to take to flee," he added.Umar, a scientist at Kelut's observation post, said that volcanic activity was still occurring and the temperature of the water in the crater had risen further, all indications of an imminent eruption.Geologists expect that an eruption of Kelut would be comprised of "heat clouds", searing gases and volcanic debris rushing down the slopes, similar to the most recent eruption in 1990 that left 34 dead.Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where continental plates collide causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.The archipelago nation is home to 129 active volcanoes, including 21 on Java.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071023/sc_afp/indonesiavolcano_071023055123;_ylt=AnNNrVod8zBkAQQpW95OzcCnZiEB

As in the days of Noah....