Indonesia raises alert level on Mt Kelud volcano

JAKARTA, Sep 30 (Reuters) Indonesian scientists have raised the alert for Mount Kelud, a volcano in East Java, to the second-highest level following increased activity, an official said today.

Volcanic tremors and increased temperatures in the past four days have led to fears of an eruption, and residents have been told to stay away from the the 1,731-metre volcano, Yan Mulyana, an official at the Indonesian Vulcanology Survey, told Reuters.

Mount Kelud is 87.5 kilometres southwest of Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.

''We urge people to remain calm and not to be agitated by rumours of an eruption,'' Mulyana said.

Residents have been told to avoid staying within a five-kilometre (three-mile) zone.

A 1919 eruption of Mount Kelud caused the lake in its crater to burst through the volcano rim and sent boiling water down its slopes, killing 5,000 people in 104 villages.

Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes of any country, sitting on a belt of intense seismic activity known as the ''Pacific Ring of Fire.'' REUTERS SL PM1400