Mass evacuation of the 2010 Merapi eruption

Abstract

The last eruption of Merapi volcano occurred from October until December 2010. The existing contingency and evacuation plans were only able to handle the crisis from 26 October, 2010 until 3 November, 2010. By 3 November, 2010, the contingency and evacuation plans were no longer used. The authorities decided to move the refugee camps 15 km away from the summit instead of the initial 10 km. The largest and unexpected eruption occurred on 4 November, 2010 and the safety zone was raised to a radius of 20 km. This paper aims to analyse the difficulties during the evacuation and to examine the key issues that must be overcome in the evacuation and contingency plans in volcanic areas. The results show that contingency and evacuation plans should not be based on a single scenario. In the high volcanic risk areas such as Merapi's region, a multiscale and multiscenario evacuation plan is crucial.