Thousands Defy Ash, Lava in Indonesia

Thousands are ignoring orders to evacuate as Indonesia's Mount Kelud belches smoke and spits lava, the AP reports. "I feel it is OK to stay here. No one can guarantee our safety apart from ourselves," said one local in Java. But experts have had the volcano on high alert for two weeks; one says that an eruption would be worse than in 1990, when Kelud killed 30 and injured hundreds.

At least two more Indonesian volcanoes are threatening to blow. Anak Krakatoa—the “child” of Indonesia’s famed Krakatoa—is spitting ash a few hundred miles away, as is Mount Semeru, 40 miles southeast. But experts are fretting in particular over Kelud, which has overheated nearby monitoring equipment, and is remembered for having killed more than 5,000 in an eruption in 1919. (More Indonesia stories.)