JAKARTA, Indonesia: Thousands of people were set to be evacuated from the slopes of an Indonesian volcano Sunday as scientists warned that heightened activity signaled it could erupt.

The alert on Mount Kelud, about 620 kilometers (385 miles) east of the capital Jakarta, was raised to the second-highest level after sensors on its slopes picked up increased activity and a buildup of gases, said Surono, a senior government vulcanologist who goes by one name.

The 1,731-meter (5,679-foot) mountain was hotter and emitted three times more carbon dioxide than normal, prompting authorities to make preparations to evacuate about 24,000 people living just outside a danger zone, he said.

"There is a possibility of a major eruption, but it is not imminent," Surono said, adding that villagers and tourists had already been told to stay away from a 5-kilometer (3-mile) danger zone around a popular green lake near its peak.

Mount Kelud, one of the most active volcanoes in the world's largest archipelagic nation, last erupted in 1990.

Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" — a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Original Source: The Associated Press

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