More than 22,000 people were evacuated from below the Mount Kelud Volcano in East Java, according to the latest UN update published Friday in Geneva amid fears of a powerful eruption, DPA reported. Experts warned that the 1,731-metre volcano, which lies about 100 kilometres south-east of the provincial capital Surabaya, was still in imminent danger of erupting despite fewer tremors. According to information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a total 22,154 people had been persuaded to leave their homes in two provinces Kediri and Blitar within a 10 kilometre radius of the mountain. However, another 17,000 had defied warnings and returned home. While volcanic tremors had eased, the Directorate for Volcanology in Bandung said activity was still increasing. The deformation of the crater was also increasing, a sign of imminent eruption. The volcano, which has been increasingly active in recent weeks, last erupted in 1990, killing more than 30 people. It is considered the most active of Indonesia's volcanoes lying within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where seismic activity is common.
