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Pepper

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The news from Java appears to becoming constricted. I'm not just speaking about Merapi either. With all the crisis the region, there appears to be relatively little news.

This 3rd party report is about one week old, but it describes dire conditions that have suddenly provided few update details.

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Poverty hits villagers as Merapi stays on high alert
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Sleman

Mt. Merapi continued billowing hot clouds of ash and steam Sunday, leaving residents unable to work and forcing them to sell their livestock to raise money.

Some villagers who earn their living as traders are facing the bitter reality that their shops in the Kaliadem tourist area were buried by volcanic ash Wednesday. The volcano also sent massive heat clouds to the area, killing two men. .

"I can't even think anymore. How can I cope with these problems?" Sri Wahyuni, a food stall owner in the tourist area, told Antara.

The Kaliadem hamlet resident has been living in a shelter at SMKN 1 vocational high school in Cangkringan for the past two months. She says she has no strength left to visit her house near the Opak river.

"My children are going to school without uniforms, and I have only two sets of clothes with me," she said.

With no money, it's been difficult to take care of her livestock. Water shortages have also become a problem. "I've decided to sell one of our two cows to cover our living expenses," she said.

But even selling a cow will not bring peace of mind. One of her two children, Resa, is about to enroll in junior high school, so she has to come up with more money. "I don't know what else to do or what our family's future will be," she said.

Another villager, Yamirah, 34, was not sure whether she could raise enough money to send her daughter, Dwi Astuti, to junior high school, since she has had to stop working as a sand miner on the volcano's slopes. "I want her to at least graduate from junior high," she told Antara.

She could only pin her hopes on her husband's plan to become a construction worker in the city. "My husband said he would try," Yamirah said.

With no work or money, the villagers have no plan to move out of the volcano's dangerous path. "We don't have another house to go to. Besides, we have a big family, and Kaliadem is home," she said.

The volcano showed no signs of cooling down Sunday, spewing hot clouds every 30 minutes that trailed four kilometers down its slopes.

The mountain continued to spit lava sparks; 57 were recorded just within six hours on Sunday morning, traveling as far as 2.5 kilometers down the slopes.

The head of the Merapi section at the Yogyakarta volcanology center, Subandriyo, said Sunday that a new lava dome emerged soon after the volcano spewed searing clouds of ash and steam on Wednesday.

"The position of the new lava dome, which was formed on May 14, is concealed because it's in a cavity around 100 meters wide. We don't know its height and volume yet," he said.

The formation of the new lava dome, he said, would help reduce the quantity of hot clouds and sparks of lava, but it did not mean the volcano is becoming less dangerous.

"Hot clouds of ash and steam are still posing a serious threat to residents living on Merapi's slopes," he said.

He said residents who live within seven kilometers of the crater should remain in shelters as the volcano will be kept on high alert.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detai...0619.G01&irec=1

Don't you love these third world nations that don't think it is important enough to educate their populace for the good of all, and make the destitute pay for their children to go to junior high?

One day soon, I believe the world in general will realize it's folly in devaluing the potential of all it's members. We -as a species- need everyone to be as capable as possible to do what must be done to survive. The costs of ignorance is paid by all.

I can't tell, but it sounds to me like she needs to pay for uniforms (and maybe books), not for the schooling itself. BTDT -- uniforms and books for the Catholic school my daughters attended were almost as expensive as tuition.

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Okay, channelling Russ, I'll be the vicious dictator of the world for a minute, and I decree that all people of normal intelligence shall have mandatory schooling through high school, the promotions will be based upon performance not upon trying to make everyone feel 'good' and 'equal', that everyone must pass math through algebra and geometry to get a high school diploma, that it is okay to track kids into the 'eagles', the 'bunnies' and the 'turtles', that trade schools will have strict accreditation processes and standards such that nobody is embarassed to have a kid studying to be a plumber (which is a good-paying, skill-dependent job) or auto mechanic. In addition there'll be strict accredation of colleges, and tuition and 'fees' for *accredited* schools (college and trade) will be paid for by tax revenues, which means there will be none left over for things like subsidizing bridges to nowhere in Alaska or guaranteeing that a specific contractor or a contractor in any specific state will get the subcontract for any particular government project (as often happens in NASA projects). There will also be no further subsidies to the tobacco or oil industries, since as a vicious dictator I have no need to be elected and thus no need to pay them off for campaign contributions.

Scientist Says Volcano Threatens Farmers
By IRWAN FIRDAUS

The Associated PressMonday, June 19, 2006; 6:03 PM

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia -- Indonesia's most volatile volcano unleashed heavy clouds of burning ash and gas Monday, threatening the lives of hundreds of defiant villagers farming on its fertile slopes, a scientist said.

Mount Merapi spewed searing clouds 1.5 miles down the mountain's southeastern flank, dusting crops and rooftops in the villages of Kinahrejo and Palemsari with dark gray ash, said Triyani, a government volcanologist.

But hundreds of residents living within the government-designated danger zone, just a few miles from the rumbling crater, continued to tend crops and livestock, she said.

Triyani warned that villagers in Kinahrejo and Palemsari faced the risk of high-speed avalanches, such as the one that burned to death two rescue workers last week after they sought shelter in an emergency bunker.

Merapi has been at a state of high alert for seven weeks, though the status was dropped briefly earlier this month.

The government has ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents living within 11 miles of the peak, but says it cannot force them to leave or prevent villagers from returning to check their houses and crops.

"We are worried, but we have to see our home and take care of our animals," said Stuned, a villager from Palemsari who goes by only one name.

Merapi is one of more than 70 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The main dangers at Merapi are fast-moving bursts of blistering gases and rock fragments called pyroclastic flow. Experts say a massive vertical eruption threatening people many miles away is very unlikely.

One killed more than 60 villagers in 1994, and about 1,300 people died when Merapi erupted in 1930.

Triyani said in the last few decades, lava and debris has almost always cascaded down the northern and western sides of the mountain. She said it was quite rare to tumble down the southeastern side, as it did on Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...6061900979.html

Merapi residents forced to sell cattle
Suherdjoko and Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Sleman

Residents living along the slopes of Mt. Merapi have begun selling off their prized dairy cattle because the ashfalls that have covered the area since last week have made it difficult to feed or water the animals.

In Kaliadem hamlet in Cangkringan district, Sleman, residents who earn their living raising cattle have been unable to gather grass for the animals because of the ashfalls.

Concerned that their cattle could begin dying, many of the residents are getting what compensation they can by selling the animals cheaply.

"Each cow is sold for Rp 5.5 million (US$578.90) to Rp 6 million. Normally they sell for between Rp 7 and Rp 8 million," Tukiman, a Kaliadem resident, said.

"We are living in evacuation centers so there is nothing we can do. There have been 60 cows sold thus far," he said, adding that about 500 residents in the hamlet made a living raising dairy cows.

Tukiman said traders, well aware of residents' plight, were coming to Kaliadem to buy the cows at marked down prices. "We're still fortunate, though, that we are able to sell them because we also worry about their safety (during the volcano's eruption)," he said.

In Kaliadem there are at least 450 dairy cows, each of which produces an average of 15 liters of milk per day. Each liter of milk sells for Rp 1,500.

Besides the ashfalls, residents also are dealing with an absence of clean water after water pipes were destroyed by falling volcanic debris. "Moreover, Umbul Lanang spring in the hamlet is no longer producing water," Tukiman said.

Another resident, Sugeng, said the hamlet had faced water shortages for the last four days. Water assistance began arriving Monday via trucks dispatched by the regency administration.

"Life is temporarily back to normal. However, we are still afraid of the thunderous sounds coming from Merapi. Moreover, the ashfalls are still continuing today," Sugeng said Monday.

Meanwhile, the Volcanology Technology Research and Development Center in Yogyakarta is maintaining Mt. Merapi at its highest alert status, particularly around Gendol River and within an eight-kilometer radius of the volcano's crater, despite a noticeable cooling in the mountain's activities.

A press release signed by Subandriyo, head of the center's Mt. Merapi section, recommended that the areas along the Krasak, Bedog and Gendol rivers be evacuated because they were prone to hot ashfalls.

The press release also warned against any activities within the eight-kilometer radius zone, including sand mining, farming, livestock tending and hiking.

Center chairman Antonius Ratdomopurbo said that as of Monday afternoon the center's seismograph registered up to five incidents of hot ash spewing from Merapi. Even though the incidents were small in volume, their direction could not be detected because of the cloud cover.

On Sunday there were up to 27 incidents of hot ash spewing from the mountain, covering a distance of up to three kilometers in the direction of Gendol River.

"The source of the hot ash is not the new lava dome, which appeared after the large-scale hot ash eruptions on June 14, with a magma production of about 70,000 cubic meters per day," Ratdomopurbo said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detai...0620.G01&irec=1

The cow situation is sad, but is the right thing to do. May the cattle be moved somewhere safe, and the people with their cash have enough to start up again somewhere else, with only a temporary downsizing.

I hope your optimiztic outlook works that way. Seems to me almost a situation of "eating your seed corn" so to speak. They are selling at a loss with no idea when they will be able to restart their business again, so the sale $$ most probably will go for living expenses and from what I can gather their government offers nothing in the way of compensation or start-up loans.

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Making more elderberry and buying more ammo!  

Mount Merapi: Scientist fears rain could worsen situation 06/20/2006 11:13 Source:

If forecasts of rain on Wednesday and Thursday hold, millions of metric tons of built-up ash and rock fragments could be sent down Merapi's steep slopes in mudslides, a vulcanologist warned.

Meanwhile, avalanches of new debris tumbled 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) down the flanks of the volatile mountain earlier Tuesday, said the government volcanologist, who used the single name Subandrio, the AP reports.

He said rain threatened to cause landslides in a government-designated no-go zone where many villagers are still tending crops and livestock, despite orders from authorities to evacuate. While several hundred farmers remained behind, thousands of other villagers were living in government shelters.

The powerful, fast-moving flows of volcanic debris are known by their Indonesian name Lahar.

Merapi has been at a state of high alert for seven weeks, though the status was dropped briefly earlier this month. Two people died when they sought shelter at an emergency bunker when hot gas traveled 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) down the mountain on Wednesday.

http://english.pravda.ru/news/world...06/82232-rain-0

O.K without getting Narky at all , Indonesia is a place that has the best and worst of either end of the scale, all the mod con's in this place, and all the attributes of a third world country in another only a few hundred Km's away. Running water, neon light's high class Hotels and BMW's cruising the street here, No sewage, running water, electricity, bitumen or roads just a short distance away and the relative quality of life that go's with each circumstance in between.
It was only a short time ago Indonesia crawled out from the dictatorship of Suharto, and not much has changed since. Most of the country is trying to drag itself into the 20th century, (yeah I know). Most of the population is still survivng on subsistence farming practises and the life style that go's with it. When it comes to education, survival comes first.

Thanks for the updates on Merapi Coancl, Im still of the mind that he/she will blow and make a BIG mess of things.

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"Such is Life" 

I think it will too. It is very interesting that the current eruptons are not at the summit, but down the slope of the mountain.

On another note, I found a picture of the Toba magma chamber that showed the southern portion was about 10x larger than the part the blew 74 million years ago. I lost the picture and have not been able to relocagte the source, but I think it shows it to be the source of the magma that feeds Krakatau and Merapi.

Mount Merapi releases hot cloud of volcanic ash and gas as seen from Deles, Central Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, June 21, 2006. The rumbling volcano sent deadly avalanches of searing hot gas and debris roiling down its scorched slopes Wednesday, as a scientist warned the peak's fragile lava dome still posed a threat to thousands of villagers. (AP Photo/Susetyo Nugroho) (Susetyo Nugroho - AP)

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instability likely the result of increased regional seismic activity

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as morbid as it sounds I wish it would hurry up and go BOOM

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take it or leave it 

I wish it would make a few burps first frightening enough to GET THOSE PEOPLE OFF THE MOUNTAIN.

I'm not happy with Pravda's definition of lahar.

Pyroclastic flow = hot ash fresh from the mountain roaring down at 100+ mph and 300F-3000F. The ash is suspended in hot gas.

Lahar = ash-mud mixture washed down *by water* from the mountain, temperature generally less than the boiling point of water at that particular elevation.

In context: US pacific northwest volcanos are prone to causing lahars because when they erupt, the glaciers at their summits melt precipitously, sending walls of mud and debris down their drainages.

Do y'all suppose the old man who was waiting for a sign from the mountain spirits is still waiting up there?

Probably, especially since there are still people playing golf on the course nearby!

cable channel MSNBC - I'll see if there's something on the web about it..

http://www.pga.com/news/travel/inte...lcano051506.cfm

Says they're closing up shop, now.

Golf website http://www.merapigolf.com/

does anyone know how long Krakatau erupted before it blew?

The reason I ask is because natural events generally follow the same sequence.

Rain might trigger Merapi mudslides
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Sleman

Mt. Merapi sent avalanches of hot gas and debris down its scorched slopes Wednesday, as a scientist warned the peak's fragile lava dome still posed a threat to thousands of villagers.

The smoldering volcano has been at a near-continuous state of high alert for seven weeks, forcing the evacuation of thousands of villagers in a government designated danger zone.

More than half a dozen avalanches Wednesday morning carried gas and volcanic debris 3.5 kilometers down the peak's flanks, Subandrio, head of the Mt. Merapi section at a Yogyakarta-based volcanology center, told AP on Wednesday.

Magma has swelled into a volatile 300,000 cubic meter dome on the southern crater, he said, and there is a likelihood that the lava dome will collapse, causing an avalanche of the hot gas and volcanic debris trapped within it.

The government has ordered the evacuation of all residents living within seven kilometers of the peak, but says it cannot force them to leave or prevent villagers from returning to check their houses and crops. Hundreds have refused to go.

Searing gas clouds from the volcano killed two men as they hid in a bunker in the Kaliadem tourist area when hot gas traveled seven kilometers down the mountain last Wednesday. Similar clouds killed more than 60 villagers in 1994, and more than 1,300 people died in a major eruption in 1930.

Another possible threat is posed by the rain forecast for coming days, which could wash millions of metric tons of built-up ash and rock fragments down Merapi's slopes in powerful mudslides.

Thousands of houses in three hamlets in Cangkringan district in Sleman could be threatened by the mudslides of cold lava, coming from some three million cubic meters of volcanic debris piling up near the Kaliadem tourist area and along riverbanks.

"In Kaliadem, there are more than three million cubic meters of volcanic materials. If it rains, they might turn into cold lava that could flow down into thousands of houses below," Sleman Regent Ibnu Subiyanto said Wednesday.

He said the regency administration had no specific strategy for dealing with the danger.

"One of the ways to block the cold lava is by digging trenches near the Gendol area to accommodate the lava and prevent it from reaching residential areas," Ibnu said.

He said the administration had several months before the rainy season set in.

The administration plans to involve the volcanology center in Yogyakarta, the central government and related experts in coming up with preventive measures to deal with the possible flow of cold lava, he said.

The deaths of the two men in Kaliadem and the threat of mudslides have nearby villagers concerned they will be ordered out of the area.

"If there is such a plan, I believe residents will oppose it. Residents are very worried they will be told to relocate because of the danger to their villages," Umbulharjo village head Bejomulyo said.

He said many residents in the area earned a living from tourists. "If they are forced to relocate, they might have problems earning a living in the new places."

A Kinahrejo resident, Wagiran, 52, urged the authorities only to close the affected tourist areas, not the villages on the volcano's slopes. "Don't move the villagers. We were born here and earn our living here," he said.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detai...0622.G01&irec=1

more regional earthquake activity

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Is this much regional earthquake activity normal?

Caonacl~ This parallels your wikipedia info, above, & includes additional details.



~LRH

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"The biggest shortage of all is the shortage of common sense." ~Unknown 

SINJAI (Reuters) - Indonesian rescuers scoured mud-filled homes for bodies and some survivors suffered diarrhoea and skin diseases after landslides and floods on eastern Sulawesi island killed 210 people, officials said on

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This amount of regional activityb is normal, but the problem is that the conditions at the Merapi lava dome are unstable at the momment.

....

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Magnitude 6.2 - SULAWESI, INDONESIA

2006 June 24 21:15:02 UTC
Earthquake Details
Magnitude 6.2 (Strong)
Date-Time Saturday, June 24, 2006 at 21:15:02 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 5:15:02 AM
= local time at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 0.427°S, 123.156°E
Depth 35.9 km (22.3 miles)
Region SULAWESI, INDONESIA
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter...ps/10/120_0.php

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Magnitude 5.0 - SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

2006 June 25 15:09:52 UTC

Magnitude 5.0 (Moderate)
Date-Time Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 15:09:52 (UTC)
= Coordinated Universal Time
Sunday, June 25, 2006 at 10:09:52 PM
= local time at epicenter

Location 4.754°S, 102.106°E
Depth 47.4 km (29.5 miles) set by location program
Region SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

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As of the 29th of June, the VGHM reported that during 21-25 June, seismic signals at Merapi indicated almost daily occurrence of rockfalls and pyroclastic flows. Due to inclement weather, pyroclastic flows were only observed on 24 June and reached a maximum distance of 4 km SE along the Gendol River and 2.5 km SW along the Krasak River. Gas plumes were observed during 22-25 June and reached a maximum height of 1.5 km above the summit (14,600 ft a.s.l.) on 24 June.

Merapi, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, lies in one of the world's most densely populated areas and dominates the landscape immediately north of the major city of Yogyakarta. Merapi is the youngest and southernmost of a volcanic chain extending NNW to Ungaran volcano. Growth of Old Merapi volcano beginning during the Pleistocene ended with major edifice collapse perhaps about 2000 years ago, leaving a large arcuate scarp cutting the eroded older Batulawang volcano. Subsequently growth of the steep-sided Young Merapi edifice, its upper part unvegetated due to frequent eruptive activity, began SW of the earlier collapse scarp. Pyroclastic flows and lahars accompanying growth and collapse of the steep-sided active summit lava dome have devastated cultivated lands on the volcano's western-to-southern flanks and caused many fatalities during historical time. The volcano is the object of extensive monitoring efforts by the Merapi Volcano Observatory of the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia.

The Current Colour Code for Merapi is currently at ALERT LEVEL 4.

Volcano Merapi in Java (Indonesia) was successfully forecasted by SWVRC's programme ERUPTION Pro 10.6 to erupt in 2006 with 98.65% probability.

good link:

http://www.swvrc.org/cerupt.htm

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Disaster in 'Ring of Fire'
18/07/2006 13:40 - (SA)

Jakarta - The earthquake that rocked Java and unleashed another deadly tsunami was the latest disaster in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" that has seen a burst of seismic and volcanic activity this year.

Less than two months ago the central Indonesian region was hit by a 6.3-magnitude quake that killed more than 5 800 people and increased activity at Mount Merapi volcano which was already on high alert for a major eruption.

Each new temblor adds to the infamy of the so-called Ring of Fire, the volatile edges of the north Pacific both on land or undersea that are bounded by the east Asian rim and the west coast of the Americas.

Some of the most dramatic natural disasters of recent history have happened within the Ring's arc, which stretches from Chile, north to Alaska and then west to encompass Japan, Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.

From the nuclear-like explosion of Krakatoa volcano off the coast of Indonesia in 1883 to the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 220 000 across 11 nations in late 2004, the Ring's awesome power is legend.

Indonesia suffered the heaviest casualties in the 2004 tsunami disaster, which was triggered by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra island.

The 2004 tsunami was followed by an 8.7-level quake just 160 kilometres to the south on March 28 2005, killing more than 600.

Other large scale disasters within the Ring were the eruption of Mount St Helens in the United States in 1980, the freak quake that felled much of San Francisco in 1906 and the one that devastated Kobe, Japan, in 1995.

Pieces of a puzzle
Since the start of the year there has been an increase in seismic activity with dozens of earthquakes in the Ring and the reawakening of Mount Merapi on Java.

The volcano is still on alert for possible eruption although the warning was last week downgraded from code red, the highest.

The fragile fault lines that skirt the zone are the reason for such geological volatility.

The Earth's crust is made up of a series of rocky plates that literally float on the molten rock of the planet's mantle and core, interlocked over the entire globe like the pieces of a puzzle.

These plates are in constant motion, clashing into each other or moving away from each other, creating stresses and pressure build-ups at their margins.

The edges, or fault lines, are weak points in the planet's surface where the crust drops to just a few miles in thickness; at its thickest it is about 20 miles deep.

Many, mostly small eruptions occur, but occasionally huge volcanic explosions, earthquakes or landslides are generated, as pent up energy is released through the weak fissures.

According to the US Geological Survey, since 1900 there have been on average 19.4 quakes of 7.0-plus strength on the Ring each year, but more than 30 have been recorded so far this year.

But there were just 11 in 2005, suggesting that year's burst may just be a natural fluctuation.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Techno...1969582,00.html

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Indonesian forest fire haze lifting in Thai south
SONGKHLA, July 19 (TNA) - The Indonesian forest fire haze which has enveloped southern Thailand in smog for some days began lifting in Songkhla on Wednesday morning.

According to news reports, the haze has lessened due to rain Tuesday night, improving visibility and bringing welcome relief for people suffering from respiratory ailments.

The local meteorological office warned that the although the strong southwesterly winds which have been carrying dust particles from Sumatra have weakened, it is still possible that the haze will return as some of the fires have not yet died down.

Dr. Kritha Thamkampee, a lung specialist at Songkha Nakharin Hospital said that the hospital is surveying patients with respiratory disease which may have increased due to the blanket of smog.

The hospital also advised patients to avoid exposure to the smog to prevent their symtoms from becoming aggravated. http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=23455

Poor people, if its not one thing its the other!

Indonesia death toll passes 500
Debris is scattered in the beach area, July 18, in Pangandaran, West Java
People are still desperately looking for loved ones
The death toll in the Indonesian tsunami has risen to at least 520, fuelling questions over why no warning was given ahead of the disaster.

Government officials said they received a warning that the island of Java was threatened by a tsunami following an underwater earthquake off the coast.

But they said they were unable to pass on the warning to coastal areas.

A fresh earthquake hit the island on Wednesday, but no injuries or major damage have been reported so far.

The epicentre of the latest quake was under the sea off Java's southwestern coast, and buildings shook in surrounding areas as far away as the capital Jakarta.

But officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no new tsunami was expected.

Indonesia is still working to build an early warning system following the massive 2004 Asian tsunami.


I saw enormous waves engulf our beach and sweep away cars and boats
Eyewitness Elan Jayalani

Tsunami explained
'We're living in caves'
Warning system 'not ready'
Press view on tsunami
A warning system is being installed in the western province of Aceh, where 130,000 people were killed in 2004, but the government says Java will not be covered until next year at the earliest.

The giant 2m-high wall of water which hit the resort of Pangandaran on Monday was triggered by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

Amateur video footage has emerged showing a black wall of water tearing towards a beach full of children.

Meanwhile, rumours of another giant wave hitting the coast caused hundreds of people to flee inland on Wednesday.

Soon after Monday's quake, US and Japanese agencies issued tsunami alerts for parts of Indonesia and Australia, but the Indonesian government says it was unable to relay the message to the coast.


HAVE YOUR SAY
Work out the tsunami warning details later. Lives are more important than money
Julie P, USA

Send us your comments
In pictures: Rescue work
And even if it had, there were no warning sirens or alarms to pass the information on to residents.

"Our system is not yet working properly. We are still developing a communication system especially for the regions," said one government scientist, Fauzi.

Peter Cameron, a Red Cross spokesman in the capital Jakarta, told the BBC the authorities had only received a warning about 20 minutes before the tsunami struck.

He said that "by the time they got it and got ready to disseminate it, the tsunami had already hit the coast".

Reminder of Aceh


JAVA TSUNAMI 17 JULY
Indonesia map
0819GMT: 7.7 undersea earthquake triggers tsunami
0838GMT: International quake monitors send warnings, but no local alert systems in place
0915GMT: Waves around two metres high hit Java coast
Damage from the tsunami has been reported along a 200km (125 mile) stretch of Java's coastline.

Police and army teams are searching affected areas with sniffer dogs and mechanical diggers.

"We are looking for people who are still missing or buried under the rubble as well as clearing the debris," said army officer Deden Rajab.

According to Maman Susanto, from the government's national disaster co-ordinating board, 275 people are still listed as missing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/as...fic/5192716.stm
Survivors in Pangandaran have been describing their terror, saying said the experience brought back memories of the 2004 tsunami.

"When I heard the word tsunami, images from Aceh flashed in my mind and like everybody else I ran and tried to distance myself from the sea as fast as possible," said Sudarmin, a 48-year-old coconut farmer.

More than 50,000 people have been displaced and are currently living in makeshift tents or on the floors of mosques.

Many people have been living in the hills since the disaster.

"I am too scared to go down," one elderly woman told the French new agency AFP.

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She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan. 

The regions seismic activity is amazing

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