Help for Disaster Victims in Central Java

Reaching out to Disaster Victims in Central Java

'Hands for Merpati' Bali Charity Bazaar on Sunday, December 19, 2010 to Raise Funds for Victims of Central Java Volcanic Eruption.

 The Bali Association of Bali Public Relations Managers have joined forces to generate funds to provide much-needed disaster relief for the victims of recent eruptions of the Merpati volcano near Yogyakarta, Central Java.

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The fund-raising event set to be held on Sunday, December 19, 2010, at the Central Park, Istana Kuta Galeria from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm will take the form of a charity bazaar. There will be merchant stands, live music, fashion shows, food and beverage, and door prizes all on offer.

For more information and tickets contact:

• Tasya Aulia at telephone ++62-(0)8123875801

• Daniela Hartati at telephone ++62-(0)811385939

© Bali Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com. All images and graphics are copyright protected.

Balifornian Tours works with charities and organizations like this one to help educate, clothe and nurish the great people in many small villages in Bali and Indonesia at large.  Our customized private guided tours encorporate visits to impovershed villages where participants can donate time, gifts, money or whatever they find appropriate.  Our feedback tells us this is one of the most rewarding parts of our tours.

Indo continues to battle with Merapi Volcano

Indonesian Officials Warn Yogyakarta Could Be in Firing Line
Candra Malik |via Jakarta Globe

Geologists warned on Friday that Yogyakarta could be at real risk from the continuing eruptions. 

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Yogyakarta. The city of Yogyakarta is now facing a very real threat from the rumbling Mount Merapi, geologists said on Friday, acknowledging that it was now very difficult to anticipate the volcano’s next move.

“I still believe that the heat clouds from Mount Merapi will not go beyond 20 kilometers from the mountain’s crater,” Surono, head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG), said on Friday.

“But who can put a stop to the wind? Who knows where the wind will blow? The wind has now carried the volcanic ash, sand and gravel into the middle of the city,” he said.

Winds, he said, were also responsible for the heat clouds gliding as far as 17 kilometers from the crater on Friday — something geologists never expected to happen — and destroying hamlets previously thought safe.

Surono added that pyroclastic flows — fast-moving clouds of superheated ash and gas — were not the only deadly threats from the volcanic eruptions now referred to as the worst in 140 years.

Lava and lahar — mudflow or debris flow composed of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water — are real threats that cannot be overlooked, he said.

The several rivers flowing down the slopes of Merapi have now carried lava and lahar to various regions surrounding the volcano.

One of these, Code River, passes through the middle of Yogyakarta city, which was placed on the highest alert level following Friday’s massive eruption.

“There is no alternative but to move away from Code River,” Surono said.

“Do not watch the swift current in the river, do not stand on the bridge, do not stay in houses located along the river.

If lava damages the riverbanks, then the risk is very high.

It will break down anything along its path.

It can be fierce as the heat clouds will kill anyone in the way.”

Surono appealed to residents comply with government orders to evacuate the area.

“Do not argue or fight with the authorities from local governments,” he said.

“We are facing a disaster that we haven’t seen in a century.”

Raden Sukhyar, head of the geology department at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said Merapi had released more than 50 million cubic meters of volcanic material since its first eruption on Oct. 26.

He said the amount of volcanic material released by Merapi over about 10 days was already half of the total volcanic material ejected by Mount Galunggung in Tasikmalaya, West Java, over a 10-month eruption phase in 1982.

“Mount Merapi has showed us an extraordinary number of volcanic material bursts. We do not know anymore what to do, other than call on people to keep at a safe distance. What happens in the coming days could be even worse than now,” he said.

There is also the threat to respiratory health due to the ash.

Tutik Anuriah, a division head at Yogyakarta’s Environmental Pollution Control Agency, said the air quality in the city and surrounding areas was continuing to deteriorate.

“Ideally, there should be no more than 230 micrograms per cubic meter of solid particles in the air. That is standard quality. However, in 12 regions, the total suspended particles in the air has exceeded normal quality by three times,” she said.

“The worst was around Pakem in Sleman. The amount of solid particles in the air there reached 1,819 micrograms per cubic meter.”

Merapi’s volcanic ash, she added, contains 0.25 micron silica, sulfur and methane, which poses a health risk for people.

“Always keep your nose and mouth covered by a mask.”



Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano's spiritual caretaker makes the ultimate sacrifice

This story is greatly misunderstood in the west.  This loyal and spiritual man made a commitment to the King and it was his honor and duty.- Michael Doliveck-Editor

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By SLAMET RIYADI,Associated Press - Friday, October 29
MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia – For 33 years, Maridjan spoke to Mount Merapi, believing he could appease its unpredictable spirits by throwing offerings of rice, clothes and chickens into the volcano's gaping crater.

Many villagers took his word _ not that of government officials or seismologists _ as the last on when it would erupt. And the 83-year-old did appear to predict the volcano's latest eruption _ which killed 33 people this week _ but did not heed the warning himself.

As Merapi began spewing 1,800 degree Fahrenheit (1,000 Celsius) gases and thousands of villagers streamed down the mountain's slopes, Maridjan refused to budge, and more than a dozen people stayed, and perished, with him.

His rigid body was found Wednesday, prostrate on the ground in the typical Islamic prayer position and caked in heavy white soot.

On Thursday, high-profile politicians, soap opera stars, singers and hundreds of family and followers flocked to his funeral on the slopes of the mountain that had been entrusted to his care by a late king. Televisions crews and reporters jostled for position with family and friends, who reached their hands through the crowds for a chance to touch the coffin as it was carried to the grave.

Mourners kneeled by the open grave to pray as his body was lowered into the ground. They then covered the body with soil and piled cut orchids on the mound.

"I never thought he was going to leave us in such a way," said Prabukusumo, the brother of the sultan in the nearby court city of Yogyakarta who is now tasked with choosing his successor. "He's lived through so many, much bigger eruptions. I'm still in shock."

But a friend said Maridjan seemed to be expecting his death.

When asked by his close friend, Wansafyudin, days before the eruption if it might not be better to leave, he refused, according to the English-language Jakarta Globe newspaper.

"My time to die in this place has almost come," he reportedly said.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is located on the so-called "Ring of Fire," a series of fault lines that are prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Merapi is one of the world's most active mountains.

When he was 50, Maridjan inherited the position of "key holder" of the mountain from his father, receiving the official appointment from the sultan of Yogyakarta.

The mystical practice persists in Indonesia, even though most of the country's 237 million people are Muslims. Islam is a relatively new arrival to the country and, in many areas, coexists with older traditions that have their roots in animist, Hindu or Buddhist belief.

Maridjan was believed by many to have the ability to speak directly to the mountain and led ceremonies every year to hold back its lava flows by throwing rice, clothes and chickens into its dome.

Many villagers saw him as a hero, believing him over government officials and seismologists when it came to determining Merapi's danger levels. But he was a constant source of frustration for those tasked with overseeing evacuations.

Every time he refused to head down the mountain, he set a bad example for others, putting their lives at risk, they said.

Among the 14 other people found dead in and around his home, halfway up the mountain, was an Indonesian Red Cross volunteer who was trying to persuade him to leave.

"People should follow calls from district heads, village chiefs and other officials," said former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who now heads the aid agency. "Merapi disasters threaten the safety of villagers as well as volunteers who come to save them."

But far from serving as a cautionary tale, Maridjan's death and Merapi's continuing eruption has made many villagers only yearn for his quick replacement.

"I'm more afraid than ever," said Prapto Wiyono, a 60-year-old farmer from the village of Pangukrejo, who was among thousands of people crammed in an emergency shelters. "Who's going to tell us now what's going on with Merapi?"

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Associated Press reporters Andi Jatmiko and Elisabeth Oktofani contributed to this report from Mount Merapi.