Papandayan Volcano alert (Java, Indonesia) : Local government designates evacuation routes

Last update: August 14, 2011 at 11:33 am by By Armand Vervaeck

Inside the Papandayan volcano crater – Panoramio image courtesy MatthijsWiggers – http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1636
UPDATE 14/08-10:26 UTC : The local government of Garut regency, West Java has started the planning of evacuation routes. The government does not want to improvise if the alert status would go up further to level IV (the alert level remains at III since yesterday).
Garut Regent HM Aceng Fikri, said that thevillages of Citeureup, Bayongbong andCisurupan located along the River Cibeureum,  will probably be exposed to a possible direct impact of volcanic activity.
The villages are located approx. 7 kilometers from the crater of Papandayan volcano. Additionally, the local government will be ready with all necessary relief aid and equipment if an evacuataion would be imminent.  As the Papandayan volcano has an explosive history, people are scared for destructive Lahars and pyroclastic clouds.
A lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley.