Lahar threat looms above Prambanan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/22/2011

The threat of lahar floods resulting from the recent eruption of Mount Merapi now looms over the ancient Prambanan Hindu Temple, one of the main tourist attractions in Central Java.

Lahar floods have now reached the junction of the Gendol and Opak Rivers, around 5 kilometers North of Prambanan, which is situated on the bank of Opak River, Central Java Volcanic Technology Development and Research Agency (BPPTK) chief Subandriyo said Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that the temple was at a high risk of being flooded, given the high rainfalls expected for March and April.

Subandriyo warned the public of the potential for lahar flooding in all rivers streaming down from Mount Merapi, including the Putih, Woro, Gendol, Boyong and Opak Rivers.

“There is potential for lahar floods even down to the Yogyakarta-Surakarta road, but it won't happen in the near future,” he said, adding that his agency had recently installed an early warning system called Acoustic Flows Monitoring to monitor lahar flows.

Earlier media reports said a number of villages situated on the banks of some of the above rivers had been inundated by lahar floods, which had major eruptions late last year.