Merapi unleashes powerful eruption

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia – Indonesia’s deadly volcano unleashed another powerful eruption today, spewing searing clouds of gas and ash thousands of feet into the air to the sound of a booming explosion. There were no immediate reports of new casualties.

On the other side of the seismically charged country, a break in weather was helping rescuers get aid to victims of a tsunami that slammed into several remote islands, sweeping entire villages to sea.

The twin disasters, which occurred almost simultaneously one week ago, have together killed nearly 500 people.

Mount Merapi, among 20 mountains now rumbling and spitting out ash in Indonesia, is one of the world’s most active.

The latest blast sent massive clouds of ash spilling nearly two miles down the northeastern slopes, said Subrandrio, who is monitoring the mountain that has already killed 38 people.

More than 800 miles to the west, boats and helicopters were ferrying aid to the most distant corners of the Mentawai Islands, where some coastal communities were pounded by waves up to 18 feet high last Monday.