Indonesia Quake Death Toll Soars

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) — Relief and rescue crews and medical teams on Saturday raced to help the victims of the strong earthquake that rocked the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta and adjacent areas along the southern coast of Indonesia’s Java island. The 6.2 magnitude quake that struck just before 6 a.m. (7 p.m. ET, 11 p.m. GMT Friday) shook and rippled through a heavily populated region, killing at least 271 people, injuring hundreds, and leveling and damaging many structures. (Updata: ReutersRead more

Mount Merapi

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia – Villagers burned incense and floated offerings to the spirits, hoping to ward off an eruption of Mount Merapi, but activity at the volcano intensified on Monday with one blast sending ash, rock and gases more than two miles down the slope. A scientist warned on Sunday that a growing lava dome could collapse. On Monday, as activity increased, villagers who had not left were told to stand by for possible evacuation and waited in groups byRead more

Tsunami Survivors Tell Tales

I forgot about this article in the Guardian following the Asian tsunami of 2004. I guess in the pandemonium, I never thought of passing it on at the time, even though this blog was mentioned. But perhaps the saddest site I’ve visited today is javajive, written by another expat who has been waiting on news of friends in Phuket. At the time of writing this post he’s still waiting, although a commenter on his blog tells of their heartbreak atRead more

U.S. Embassy Warns of Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia

This just arrived in my inbox – not exactly the kind of message I see on a daily basis. I guess there’s never a dull moment in Indonesia. U.S. Embassy Jakarta U.S. Consulate General Surabaya Warden Message April 13, 2006 The U.S. Embassy informs Americans in Indonesia that the Indonesian Center for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised the alert status for Mt. Merapi Volcano in Central Java to Level 3 on April 12, 2006. Level 3 means that volcanicRead more

Protests Spread in Indonesia Over Caricature

Protests spread in major cities over caricature The Jakarta Post, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya Despite calls for restraint, protests intensified in the country’s main cities Monday over the publication in European media of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Protesters in most of the cities decried what they considered the use of freedom of the press to justify insulting Islam. About 200 protesters from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in West Java town of Bandung threatened to conduct searches for Danish nationalsRead more

Bali Bombing – Amateur Video Taken

Amazingly, someone happened to be recording video from inside one of the restaurants that were bombed. The Indonesian television has started playing the tape continuously. Basically, a guy was walking through the restaurant with his video camera on, all of a sudden there was a bright flash of light with a booming noise, and everyone was screaming and running into the streets. TheyÂ’ve replayed it in slow motion, and I actually recorded it with my own video camera. If anyoneRead more