[jessicamshannon]

Muntilan, Java, Indonesia Ash covers an image of the Buddha for sale along a street on the western slopes of Mount Merapi. Mount Merapi, in Central Java, Indonesia, erupted in late October, blasting hot rock and volcanic ash a kilometer and a half into the air, in what was said to be its largest eruption since the 1870s. Days after the initial eruption came an even bigger blast, releasing pyroclastic flows – fast-moving currents of gas that can reach 1,000°C – which wiped out surrounding villages, even killing people outside the denoted danger zones. Merapi is one of the most active of over 100 volcanoes in the archipelago, but is known usually for non-explosive, slow eruptions. Over 350,000 people were evacuated from the area around Merapi, and 353 people were killed in a spate of volcanic activity that lasted over a month.Photo credit:Panos Pictures / Polaris Images

[vagabond]

Terrible. I guess they weren't even prepared, due to the past history of the volcano.

[Bletch]

The didn’t seem prepared, no. Horrific pictures.

[K53]

This these souls, the earth has become hell

[eyeful_hound]

Helluva way to go. If your close enough, that ash is hot and you're just burned up inside and out. If you're far enough away that the ash has cooled, you're still dead. That ash isn't like your household dust. The crystalline ash is really small shards of jagged glass, cutting up your lungs if you breath it, cutting up your gut if you drink water contaminated by it. If you survive that, then you're likely to have long term chronic health issues from it.

[Sharon]

This was from 2010.

Amazing photos

[FavaBeans]

[Willezurmacht]

That’s impressive