Indonesian Volcano Spews Ash, Residents Evacuated
About 600 people have been evacuated in eastern Indonesia after a volcano began spewing ash, a vulcanologist said on Wednesday. Mount Egon on Flores Island started to erupt late on Tuesday, emitting grey ash up to 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) above the crater, said Muhammad Hendrasto, head of monitoring at the volcanology office in Bandung on Java island. Authorities immediately raised the alert to orange, one notch below the highest level, and evacuated people living about 1.8 km (1 mile) from the peak of the volcano, he said.