Scientists anxiously watched five volcanoes nationwide Thursday, as fears over more natural disasters escalated with five mountains rumbling into life over the past three days, the Jakarta Post reported Friday.
Volcanologists were paying the closest attention to five among the 11 mountains in the country on "watch status": Mt. Tangkuban Perahu in West Java Province; Mt. Anak Krakatau in Lampung Province; Mt. Talang in West Sumatra Province; Mt. Semeru in East Java Province; and Mt. Merapi in Yogyakarta Province, the paper said.
"It seems that Tangkuban Perahu and Anak Krakatau are more unstable than those that have been inactive for thousands of years, " said Syamsul Rizal, the chief of a volcanology team stationed at an observation post near Mt. Talang and Mt. Tangkuban Perahu.
The eruption of Mt. Talang and the increased activities of Mt. Tangkuban Perahu and Mt. Anak Krakatau were triggered by the giant earthquakes on the Nias Island and in the Aceh province recently, he said.
Mt. Anak Krakatau, which blew itself apart in 1883 in one of the country's worst-ever natural disasters, was put on alert status late Wednesday amid warnings of poisonous gas emissions. No one lives on Krakatau but the peak is a popular tourist spot.
While petty traders on the sides of Mt. Tangkuban Perahu have been evacuated, hundreds of thousands of people living nearby the slopes of the volcano stayed put in their houses, warily watching the smoking giant.
There have been 21 minor eruptions on the mountain since 1986.
Mt. Tangkuban Perahu is located near densely populated Bandung, the capital city of West Java Province and only a few hundred kilometers east of Jakarta.
Next week, Bandung will host more than 50 heads of state at the Asian-African Summit.
While activity on the mountain decreased Thursday compared to the day earlier, biggest crater on the volcano spewed hot ash into the air 21 times.
The 11 volcanoes under the watch of volcanologists are among at least 129 active volcanoes in the country that are part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" -- a series of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean and the United States, Japan, some other Southeast Asian countries and New Zealand.