People in the News, 2nd prize
Wrath of the Fire Mountain
Kemal Jufri
08 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.
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 ...
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
Through our education programs, the World Press Photo Foundation encourages diverse accounts of the world that present stories with different perspectives.
Our exhibitions showcase stories that make people stop, feel, think and act to a worldwide audience.
Our annual contest recognizes and rewards the best in photojournalism and documentary photography.
