Indonesia lowers alert level at Merapi volcano

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, June 13 (Reuters) An Indonesian state agency monitoring Mount Merapi has lowered the volcano's alert status after emissions decreased in recent days, officials at the vulcanology centre said today.

Merapi in central Java, near the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta, is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Pacific ''Ring of Fire''. It has threatened a major eruption for weeks, forcing evacuation of about 18,000 people from its slopes.

''Merapi's status was lowered from 'alert' to 'prepared' at 11 a.m.,'' Triyani, a vulcanologist at the Centre for Volcanological Research and Technology Department, told Reuters.

Some residents who had refused to move were spurred into action after an earthquake shook the Yogyakarta area on May 27, killing more than 5,700 and intensifying volcanic activity.

But after spewing out massive gas clouds and fresh lava flows late last week, Merapi has calmed down.

Experts feared that a lava dome, which has been building up since April as a result of activity, could collapse, generating clouds of gas and lava flows that could cause casualties.

But a partial degradation of the dome last week may have relieved enough pressure to reduce that danger.

More than 60 people were killed when Merapi last erupted in 1994, while 1,300 people died in a 1930 eruption.

REUTERS SHB RS1541