Indonesia volcano eruption kills at least 6 on Palue island

GlobalPost
Updated on

At least six people were killed in a massive volcanic eruption in a small island in Indonesia.

Mount Rokatenda, on the island of Palue, exploded on Saturday shooting ash about a mile into the air.

The hot ash killed the adults and children who were sleeping in a beach village, in the so-called "exclusion zone."

Palue is about 1,250 miles east of Jakarta with a population of around 7,000. It is about two miles wide.

Warning signs about the volcano were present since last year and nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from the area according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Indonesia is no stranger to volcanoes, as many of its islands lay in what is called the "ring of fire" – a series of volcanoes caused by fault lines in southeast Asia.

About 350 people died in central Java in 2010 after the eruption of Mount Merapi. 

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!