Indonesia was rocked by two separate disasters earlier this week - a 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Monday that swept onto the Mentawai Island chain in western Indonesia, and less than 24 hours later and a few hundred miles away, Mount Merapi erupted multiple times, unleashing searing pyroclastic flows that destroyed villages and blanketed the countryside in ash. Rescue personnel are only now reaching some of the more remote areas, but as of this writing, it is estimated that nearly 300 people were killed by the tsunami, and at least 30 died near Mount Merapi. Collected here are early photos from the dual disasters, and the rescue and recovery efforts just underway.
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| A man wears a face mask as ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano blankets a street, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate as Mount Merapi, which last erupted in 2006, began to emit plumes of smoke and clouds of ash. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| This aerial photograph taken from Vice President Boediono's helicopter shows the remains of a village area swept away by a tsunami in North Pagai island, one of the Mentawai islands, on October 27, 2010. (KRIS/AFP/Getty Images) |
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| An aerial photo shows trees uprooted by Monday's earthquake-triggered tsunami on Pagai island, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) |
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The sun rises over a smoking Mount Merapi on August 8th of 2010. |
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A view of the Mount Merapi volcano emitting smoke is seen from Cangkringan village in the district of Sleman, central Java October 25, 2010. (REUTERS/Dwi Oblo) |
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| Villagers travel in a truck after being evacuated from their village to Girikerto village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Authorities evacuated more than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano near Yogyakarta on Java after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| A rescuer carries an elderly woman to a temporary shelter as she is evacuated from her home on the slope of Mount Merapi, in Pakem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi) |
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| Volunteers search for victims of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, Indonesia on October 27, 2010. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| This file photo taken on May 17, 2006 shows Mbah Marijan, the appointed guardian for Mount Merapi by Yogyakarta's highly respected Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as he prays for the people's safety in Kinahrejo. Marijan was one of the victims of the eruption. Grandfather Marijan was found dead - reportedly discovered in a prayer position - inside his burnt house about four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the peak, local officials said. |
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| An Indonesian soldier searches for victims of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, on October 27, 2010, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas on Wednesday in an eruption that has killed at least 25 people and injured 14. More than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano are being evacuated after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| Stumps are all that remain of trees following the eruption of Mount Merapi, at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, on October 27, 2010, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas on Wednesday in an eruption that has killed at least 25 people and injured 14. More than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano are being evacuated after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| An ash covering living room, caused of the Mount Merapi eruption, at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, on October 27, 2010, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| Villagers pray at the burial of a victim of the Mount Merapi eruption at Umbulhardjo village in Sleman, on October 27, 2010, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas on Wednesday in an eruption that has killed at least 25 people and injured 14. More than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano are being evacuated after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| Masked police officers walk at a village that was hit by pyroclastic flows from Mount Merapi eruption in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. A volcanic eruption and a tsunami killed scores of people hundreds of miles apart in Indonesia, spasms from the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which spawns disasters from deep within the Earth. (AP Photo/Trisnadi) |
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| A car is covered with ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate as Mount Merapi, which last erupted in 2006, began to emit plumes of smoke and clouds of ash. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
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| An ash covered motorcycle caused by the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, on October 27, 2010, near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed out clouds of ash and jets of searing gas on Wednesday in an eruption that has killed at least 25 people and injured 14. More than 11,000 villagers living on the slopes of the Mount Merapi volcano are being evacuated after the alert status for an eruption was raised to the highest level. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) |
