JAKARTA, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted several times Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands more people, officials said.
The volcano in central Java spewed plumes intermittently for about five hours, CNN reported.
The evacuation zone has been expanded from 10- to 15 kilometers, and monitoring officers on the central Java mountain's slopes had to be pulled out, the Jakarta Post reported.
"Mount Merapi has entered a crisis period," said Surono, an official of the Volcanology Agency in Yogyakarta.
Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, the governor of Yogyakarta, said 22,000 refugees are being housed in camps and barracks, the Antara news agency reported.
"The needs of refugees … are the government's primary concern," he said while escorting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono through a refugee camp in Pakem.
"The government will help rebuild the houses destroyed by hot clouds from Mount Merapi, but the important thing is that the victims should feel safe first at the refugee shelters provided by the government," the president said.
