March 24, 2007
Rumbling Mount Batutara volcano has triggered the evacuation of about 15,000 people, an official said Friday. The villagers have left their homes on Lembata island, which lies in the Flores sea close to the volcano. Groundwater in the two affected villages of Buyasuri and Omesuri had suddenly turned salty, and there were rougher seas around the smoking volcano's home on the nearby deserted island of Komba. Experts have raised Mount Batutara's alert level to the second of four possible levels, but say an eruption is not imminent.
The volcano had released hot lava and rocks over the last two days and shot clouds of hot air as high as 2,000 meters (6,600 feet).
VOLCANOES
Prior to its February eruption, Klyuchevskoi last came to life in January-May 2005. Following that
eruption, the volcano "sank" by 50 meters (about 165 feet), from 4,800 meters (about 16,000 feet) to the current 4,750 meters (15,845 feet). Eruptions do not immediately threaten the Peninsula's settlements, but volcanic ash, consisting of magma particles with a diameter of up to 2 millimeters (.078 inches), can poison land and water, and they present a danger to aircraft.