Thousands flee Indonesian volcano as top alert declared

Some 8,500 people have fled the slopes of an Indonesian volcano after it spewed ash, smoke and debris,as the volcanology office raised its warning to the highest level.
The office said volcanic activity at Mount Gamkonora, about 2,700 kilometres (1,600 miles) northeast of Jakarta, prompted it to raise its warning level to "alert" which means an eruption is imminent.Spot fires were visible and the crater spewed burning material up to 15 metres (yards) from the crater, the office said. People nearby heard two thunderous booms and the column of smoke rising from the crater reached up to 2,500 metres, the office said on its website.It said that as of early Monday, 8,439 people had moved off the slopes of the 1,635-metre (5,461-foot) volcano, which last erupted in 1987.It was unclear how many remained on the slopes and were at risk.Local official Penta Libela said authorities were helping with the evacuation of villagers and had prepared four safe shelters."It is not an official evacuation program.The population panicked because of the eruption and fled on their own and as the local government,we are merely helping by providing more vehicles and assigning temporary shelters," Libela said early Monday.Indonesia sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire,"where continental plates meet, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.The archipelago nation has the world's highest number of active volcanoes.Gamkonora has erupted 12 times since records have been kept.The volcano typically spews heat clouds, or pyroclastic flows,along with lava streams toward villages in the west and northwest of Halmahera island, rather than exploding, the volcanology website said.
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