Indonesians return to homes near rumbling volcano

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, June 10 (Reuters) Villagers living on the slopes of Indonesia's rumbling Mount Merapi returned home today to tend their farms and feed their livestock as the volcano continued to spew searing clouds of smoke and ash.

Some 18,000 people have been evacuated from villages near Merapi, one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the ''Pacific Ring of Fire'', which had already been simmering for weeks but became more active after a quake rocked the area on May 27.

''We have returned to see our farm and tend to the livestock. We will go back to the shelters in the afternoon,'' said 60-year-old Sedar, a villager living near Merapi.

The authorities have placed areas around Merapi, which means ''Mountain of Fire'', on red alert and most villages located within 7 km (4 miles) of its peak are considered to be in a danger zone.

On Thursday, Merapi threw out enormous clouds of smoke that stretched further than others had before, sending panic-stricken villagers scurrying for safety. But vulcanologists said that was not the massive eruption they have been expecting.

Merapi belched out hot clouds today, but witnesses said the activity was less than that of the past three days.

''Merapi continues to spew out a massive intensity of lava and hot gas followed by solid materials,'' said Triyani from the state-run Centre for Vulcanological Research and Technology Development.

Authorities said there was little they could do to stop people from returning to their homes. Most of those who have relocated are women, children and the elderly.

''During the day, men still go up to their village to check their homes and livestock and they return in the evening. There's nothing we can do to stop that,'' said Aris, a coordinator at an evacuation camp in Kaliurang town, south of Merapi.

''They don't think it's dangerous. So they keep returning to their village during the day.'' The villagers fear for property and livestock if they are not there to protect it, and prefer to rely on natural signs rather than official orders in making decisions on whether to leave.

Residents say signals would include lightning around the mountain's peak or animals moving down its slopes.

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 that spewed out following the collapse of a lava dome.The volcano killed 1,300 people in 1930.

REUTERS KD PM1429