www.asiai.com.sg - Asia Images Magazine - September 2006

POSTCARD FROM FIRE MOUNTAIN - DOWNLOAD article .PDF

The Indonesian Island of Java is located on the legendary ‘Ring Of Fire’,

The belt of volcanoes which encircle the Greater Pacific Region and Mt. Merapi a.k.a. ‘The Mountain of Fire’. As a team of HD cameramen and crew defied the harrowing dangers to document the possibility of an imminent eruption, they had no idea just how close they were…

By Laurie K. Gilbert s.o.c.

The ‘Mountain of Fire’ sits in the center of the island, only 27 kms from the 500,000 people who live in the city of Yogyakarta. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia, and on a global scale the eruptions are so frequent that scientists include it as one of only 16 designated as a Decade Volcano.

Many of the current population of Yogyakarta still remember vividly the 1994 eruption when more than 6000 people had to be evacuated from their homes and 43 people died and as pyroclastic flows travelled 7.3 kms from the summit of the mountain enveloping villages in deadly gases superheated to a temperature in excess of 800°C. Most of those killed lived in the region of the Krasak and Boyong Rivers and those who survived still carry the physical and psychological scars from the extreme trauma of the event. The current activity of the volcano is a vivid reminder of this ever-present potential for disaster.

In the hot zone

The activities of the volcano may bring death to some, but it also brings life and comparative prosperity to millions who live in the region.The dark, volcanic soils that originate from the mountain are both rich and fertile and they support a multitude of agricultural crops that feed the third largest population on earth. Exploration Productions Inc. is the production division of Discovery Channel Canada and earlier this year they decided to make a one-hour television documentary on the day-to-day reality for these intrepid villagers as they live within minutes