Activity At Merapi May Be Decreasing After Quake - Reuters

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YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - Hot gas and lava from Indonesia's Mount Merapi is flowing in more directions and 3,000 villagers have been evacuated from its slopes so far, but volcanic activity is decreasing, officials said on Wednesday.

"The overall situation is improving," said Brigadier-General Pramono Edhie Wibowo, a senior official at the national coordinating body for disaster management. "After the quake, Merapi is showing the tendency of slowing down, although it has not returned to pre-quake level," the army general told Reuters.

The volcano, on Indonesia's main island of Java and about 450 km (280 miles) east of the capital Jakarta, has spewed heat clouds and burning lava sporadically for weeks. Following the May 27 earthquake which devastated large parts of the nearby city of Yogyakarta, killing 5,782, activity at Merapi increased and many thought it was close to a major eruption.

The government centre observing the country's most active volcano said on Wednesday that a lava dome formed more than a decade ago had collapsed. "(The dome) collapsed on June 4, broadening the routes of the hot gas cloud. While the height of the smoke is higher, the frequency of the hot gas clouds has gone down and its stretch is shorter," said Triyani from the Centre of Vulcanological Research and Technology Development.

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