Mt Merapi, Indonesia: A volcanic eruption and a tsunami killed scores of people hundreds of miles (kilometers) apart in Indonesia — spasms from the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', which spawns disasters from deep within the Earth.
The eruption of Mount Merapi on Tuesday killed at least 25 people, forced thousands to flee down its slopes and spewed burning ash and smoke high into the air on the island of Java.
Meanwhile, off the coast of Sumatra, about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) west of the volcano, rescuers battled rough seas to reach the remote Mentawai islands, where a 10-foot (three-meter) tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Monday night swept away hundreds of homes, killing at least 113 villagers, said Mujiharto of the Health Ministry's crisis center. Up to 500 others are missing.
The twin disasters happened hours apart in one of the most seismically active regions on the planet.
Scientists have warned that pressure building beneath Merapi's lava dome could trigger its most powerful explosion in years. But Gede Swantika, a government volcanologist, expressed hope the 9,737-foot (2,968-meter) mountain, which sent rocks and debris cascading down its southern slope, could be releasing steam slowly.
"It's too early to know for sure," he said, adding that a big blast could still be coming.
"But if it continues like this for a while, we are looking at a slow, long eruption."