Indonesians pray in shadow of rumbling Mount Merapi

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, June 9 (Reuters) Dozens of Indonesians prayed in the shadow of the rumbling Mount Merapi volcano today as it spewed smoke, and a preacher urged people to remain calm.

Mount Merapi, which had already been active for weeks when an earthquake struck the area on May 27, threw out enormous clouds of smoke yesterday.

Known locally as ''shaggy goats'' because of their shape and colour, the clouds stretched further than before, sending villagers living on or near its slopes scurrying for safety.

''We should accept our fate. We should remain calm and we should pray to Allah. We cannot avoid tests from Allah,'' the preacher told about 40 people gathered for prayers in a mosque in Gondang village some 10 km from the peak.

Grey clouds hovered over the mountain today, prompting authorities to evacuate more people.

''The clouds have been coming out non-stop since this morning,'' said Sukirno, a 38-year-old villager in a shelter in nearby Magelang.

Authorities have placed the areas around Merapi, one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the ''Pacific Ring of Fire'', on red alert and most villages located 7 km from the peak are considered within the danger zone.

A military official said some 18,000 people have so far been evacuated from villages near the volcano. ''The evacuation process has been smooth. We have distributed aid to them. No one has been spared,'' Bambang Darmono told reporters.

Only a handful of men stayed back to tend to their farms and livestock.

Mount Merapi has become more active since the earthquake nearly two weeks ago, but vulcanologists said the increased emissions were not the massive eruption they have been expecting.

The earthquake that rocked the ancient royal capital of Yogyakarta and nearby areas killed more than 5,700 people, but any eruption was unlikely to affect the quake-hit region, said a senior vulcanologist.

''There have been bigger emissions since the quake; 70-80 a day or every 20 minutes ... '' said Antonius Ratdomopurbo, head of a volcano research centre in Yogyakarta.

''The only threat is hot clouds and not a big eruption that is extraordinary and catastrophic that reaches even Yogyakarta.'' Merapi lies about 25 km north of Yogyakarta, which is 440 km east of Jakarta.

Experts say Merapi's eruption phase starts with the formation of domes from outpouring lava. If the lava dome collapses, hot clouds will begin cascading down the mountain slopes.

During its last eruption in 1994, most of the 70 deaths were caused by the hot ash and other material spewed out following the collapse of a lava dome. The volcano killed 1,300 people in 1930.

REUTERS SHR VV1655