Indonesia volcano erupts repeatedly

By the CNN Wire Staff

October 29, 2010 -- Updated 1213 GMT (2013 HKT)

(CNN) -- Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano stayed active Friday, erupting six times by late afternoon, and spewing hot ash clouds and lava.

Officials urged residents to be on high alert and stay away from the volcano.

On Friday morning, one eruption sent a massive plume above the mountaintop, extreme weather chaser James Reynolds said. Ash drifted to the south after the eruption about 10 a.m. local time, Reynolds said. The plume was about 1,500 meters (4,921 feet).

Residents started streaming down the mountain, heading for safer ground. Some were being evacuated after returning home following eruptions earlier in the week, observers from the Volcanology Agency near Merapi said.

Those living within a radius of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of Merapi may have to be relocated, a police official in the major city of Yogyakarta said.

Chief Inspector Gen. Ondang Sutasna told local television that he toured the area and believes some places will be too dangerous to allow rebuilding.

No injuries or deaths were immediately reported Friday.

The volcano killed at least 36 people when it exploded earlier this week, medical officials said.

Rescue and recovery efforts continue to unfold, with the Indonesian government scrambling to help tens of thousands of residents displaced by the eruption.

The European Commission announced Friday that it was offering 1.5 million euro ($2.1 million) to help the victims of the volcano and this week's tsunami in Indonesia.

"This envelope will help around 65,000 people in Mentawai and at least 22,000 people in Yogyakarta/Central Java," the European Commission said in a news release.

"Humanitarian partners will use these funds to provide water and sanitation to victims; access to primary health care and disease control; food and nonfood items; emergency telecommunications, emergency shelter; psychological support; logistics and will mainstream disaster preparedness," the release said.

Mount Merapi, which looms on the horizon north of the Yogyakarta, is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes and lies in one of the world's most densely populated areas. The volcano has a summit elevation of nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters).