INDONESIA: JAVA: MOUNT MERAPI VOLCANO ERUPTS

English/Nat Indonesia's most active volcano is still spectacularly alive following a big explosion which ended a three-year period of relative calm. The volcanic blast from Mount Merapi in central Java on Saturday covered a wide area in ash and debris. Despite a downgrading of warnings of a major eruption from "Alert" to "Danger", the volcano is still giving cause for concern. As lava and gases continued to erupt from the summit on Monday, monitoring stations were keeping a close eye on the volcano which has killed more than 1-thousand-500 people this century. Huge clouds of poisonous gas and avalanches of debris have been erupting from Indonesia's most active volcano. Spewing a mixture of rocks, gas and steam as far as seven kilometres (four miles) from the summit, Mount Merapi in central Java once again commanded attention. After lying dormant for the last three years, the volcanic activity offered a glimpse of the natural world at its most spectacular - but also its most dangerous. Since the first huge explosions on Saturday which announced the return of this giant to the list of active volcano's, clouds of ash have been covering the surrounding countryside with a fine layer of dust. The nighttime explosion could be heard 20 kilometres (14 miles) away, while the normally iridescent green landscape was toned down by a whitish grey covering of ash. The people who live in the shadow of the volcano are used to such occurrences, albeit rarely of this magnitude, and the usual routine of brushing down the crops began at first light. Powerless in the face of such natural force, there is little else they can do. Mount Merapi is one of the most closely observed volcanos in the world, and at one of the many monitoring stations dotted around its slopes, the machines record the latest rumblings of the giant. One of the resident experts says that if the readings get any bigger, there will be no alternative but for people to leave the area. SOUNDBITE: (English) "The distance of the glowing cloud or debris avalanche only reached seven kilometres from the summit, and people live a bit further down the slope about 12 kilometres from the summit. So, if the distance of avalanche increases from this time, so of course the people must be evacuated." SUPER CAPTION: Dr I.R Sokhyar, Volcanologist But for now the threat is sufficiently low to allow these people to stay. Living in the shadow of Mount Merapi has, historically, been a dangerous thing to do. In 1930, 1-thousand-300 people were killed when Merapi had what volcanologists called an episode. The last significant activity was in 1994 when the volcano sent a steam cloud racing down its slopes at almost supersonic speed, flattening a village, killing 60 inhabitants and severely burning others. Today, the work in the fields goes on, but through a haze of dust caused by the volcanic explosions that permeates everything for miles. The land here is some of the most fertile in the world because of the volcanic activity, but the unpredictability of the volcano also makes it some of the most dangerous farmland. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We have to realise that we cannot block or prevent what nature wants to do. The important part of what we can do is detect as early as possible the threat." SUPER CAPTION: Dr I.R. Sokhyar, Volcanologist As the sun goes down, the volcano comes to life once again - the orange lava flow punctuating the dim light. In the darkness, Merapi puts on another spectacular pyrotechnic display, with those living in its shadow being able to do little more than watch in awe. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/fc17e79ecbda1cdd5c09f8bd572a52c0 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork