Another Blast from Mount Merapi raise death toll

On October 26th, the initial eruption of Mount Merapi kill about 40 people. It occurred less than a day after a tsunami hit a remote island on the western end of Indonesia. After the first eruption it was predicted that there would be dozens of big explosions that would follow and ease pressure building up behind a magma done, but the eruptions are intensifying leaving experts who have been studying Merapi baffled. After the most recent eruption, early this morning, 77 people died in the village of Bronggang; making the death poll double at 122.

 Government thought Bronggang, which was 9miles away from the crater, would be a "safe zone" and did not have people evacuate. Gases avalanche down the volcano with a loud, thunderous roar; everything is covered in ash. People ran into the streets trying to escape. Most were killed by the gases or burns. The morgues are piled up with dead bodies and the hospitals are overflowing with injured people; mostly burns or respiratory problems and a few with broken bones and cuts.

Mount Merapi is one of the world's most active volcanoes; killing about 1,500 people within the last century. The greatest danger Mount Merapi has always been pyroclastic flows, which is the primary cause of death for volcano eruptions. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated into shelters within the last week. Indonesia sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a horseshoe shaped string of faults that lines the Pacific Ocean, making it prone to earthquakes and volcanoes.

There was a warning out that it was going to erupt again, but the "safe zone" was not as big as it should have been. To avoid the death toll to increase, people need to stay clear of the area (make the safe zone larger), get aid, and be prepared for another. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101105/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_disasters