2011 Photo Contest, People in the News, 2nd prize

Wrath of the Fire Mountain

Photographer

Kemal Jufri

09 November, 2010

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.

About the photographer

Kemal Jufri

Kemal Jufri is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He started his career in photography as a contract photographer for the Agence France Presse (AFP) Jakarta bureau in 1996. At the end ...

Background story

Muntilan, Java, Indonesia Masked in protection against the ash, people wait for public transport. 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

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/2500 s
Focal length
25 mm
F-Stop
f/2.8
ISO
100
Camera
Canon EOS 5D

This image is collected in