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Death Toll From Latest Indonesian Volcanic Eruption Rises to 54

   VOA News 05 November 2010
   Villagers  flee their homes following another eruption Mount Merapi in
   Klaten, Indonesia, 05 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   Villagers  flee their homes following another eruption Mount Merapi in
   Klaten, Indonesia, 05 Nov 2010

   Hospital workers in Indonesia say a new eruption from the Mount Merapi
   volcano has killed at least 54 more people.
   Around  70  others were injured, most with severe burns, following the
   massive eruption about midnight Thursday-to-Friday.  Officials expect
   the toll to rise as rescuers, assisted by soldiers, pull bodies out of
   the ash and rubble.
   The latest deaths bring the total toll to nearly 100 since the volcano
   began to erupt on October 26.
   Indonesian  officials  have expanded the volcano's "danger zone" to 20
   kilometers and ordered emergency shelters to be moved farther from the
   crater.
   Indonesia's  Transport  Ministry  has  told pilots to say clear of the
   unpredictable volcano, which is spewing hot ash and gas.
   Officials  say  they  are  struggling  to  keep  up  with the needs of
   evacuees at emergency camps, which now house about 90,000 people.
   Doctors  say  that  many  in  the camps are suffering from respiratory
   infections, coughs, fevers and eye irritation.
   Mount  Merapi, located in central Java province, is one of the world's
   most active volcanos.
   Elsewhere, Indonesian officials says flash floods have killed at least
   15 people in the eastern province of East Nusa Tenggara.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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