Indonesia's twin disasters kill more than 100

Paramedics tend to an ash-covered Indonesian volunteer at a hospital in Yogyakarta. Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes. Photo: Reuters

Paramedics tend to an ash-covered Indonesian volunteer at a hospital in Yogyakarta. Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday, prompting terrified villagers to flee and join the thousands already evacuated from its slopes. Photo: Reuters

Published Oct 27, 2010

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A tsunami and a volcanic eruption in Indonesia reportedly killed more than 300 people with over 400 missing and tens of thousands displaced. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas. Mount Merapi, on the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta on Java island, first erupted on Tuesday, a day after a tsunami pounded remote islands in western Indonesia. The death toll in the tsunami was at least 282, said West Sumatra provincial disaster.

The tsunami, triggered by a 7.5 magnitude quake that struck 78 km west of South Pagai, one of the Mentawai islands, flattened several villages and a surf resort. At least 411 people are still missing.

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