merapi picture

Mount Merapi volcano spews clouds of hot gas and ash rain as seen from Kaliadem village, near Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on May 15, 2006. Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano exploded early on Monday, sending some villagers who had been reluctant to leave scurrying for safety. REUTERS/Crack Palinggi

Indonesia’s Merapi volcano releases a huge cloud of hot gas as seen from the Ketep village, near Indonesia city of Muntilan May 15, 2006. Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano spewed lava and hot ash early on Monday, a regional official said, but a volcanologist said he had no confirmation of the report. (Beawiharta/Reuters

A pyroclastic flow, the deadly combination of super heated gas, ash and debris, known locally as ’shaggy sheep clouds’ barrels down the Mount Merapi volcano Monday May 15, 2006 as seen from Slemen village, outside Yogyakarta, the capital of Central Java province, Indonesia. Clouds of deadly hot ash, rock fragments and volcanic gas surged down Mount Merapi’s slopes Monday, as activity at the towering volcano intensified to its highest level yet.(AP Photo/Ed Wray)

Mount Merapi volcano releases a huge cloud of hot gas, as seen from Purwobinangun village, near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta May 15, 2006. Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano erupted with clouds of hot gas and rained ash on surrounding areas on Monday, sending some nearby villagers who had been reluctant to leave scurrying for safety. A vulcanologist said the eruption process was in its last stage although he was reluctant to forecast whether the situation would get worse. REUTERS/Slamet Riadi

Smoke churns out from Mount Merapi, as seen from Sleman, near Yogyakarta in Central Java. Many Indonesian villagers living on the slopes of a churning volcano disregarded warnings to stay away even though it spewed new clouds of hot gas and ash overnight.(AFP/Tarko Sudiarno)

Indonesia’s Merapi volcano erupts with lava and huge clouds of hot gases early Monday from Yogyakarta. (AP/Ed Wray