The Indonesian region devastated by a violent earthquake is also facing the threat of an imminent eruption by the Mount Merapi volcano, two incidents that are closely linked, according to experts.
At least 3,002 people were killed, more than 2,500 people were seriously injured and at least 3,824 houses were destroyed, said an official at the ministry's disaster relief center in Jakarta.
Yogyakarta is in the heartland of Indonesia’s main island of Java and stands near Mount Merapi, a volcano that has been on course for a major eruption this month. Yogyakarta is also Indonesia's ancient capital and it has bore the brunt of the earthquake. It is a densely populated city which lies almost exactly halfway between the rumbling volcano and the epicentre of Saturday's violent earthquake.
Fearing a tsunami, many residents fled for higher ground, but the ocean brought no further destruction.
Indonesia sits on Asia-Pacific’s so-called ‘Ring of Fire’, which is marked by heavy volcanic and tectonic activity. The country’s Aceh province was hardest hit by the December 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami, which left around 1,70,000 people dead or missing. A major quake in March 2005 killed about 1,000 people on Nias island and nearby areas off Sumatra.
While the "Mountain of Fire", whose belching of searing clouds of gas and volcanic dust has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of villagers, lies 35 kilometres (20 miles) to the north, the quake's epicentre is 37 kilometres to the city's south.
Both are created by a single force: the meeting of giant, shifting plates of the Earth's crust.
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