2010 Dual disasters in Indonesia

1. Dual disasters in Indonesia

2. Dual disasters in Indonesia 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, Helicopters with emergency supplies finally landed Wednesday The tsunami killed more than 300 people, and at least 30 died near Mount Merapi. The 7.7-magnitude quake struck late Monday just 13 miles (20 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor on the same fault line along Sumatra island's coast that caused a 2004 quake and monster Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. About 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the east in central Java, meanwhile, disaster officials were scouring the slopes of Indonesia's most volatile volcano for survivors after it was rocked by an eruption Tuesday that killed at least 30 people, including an 83-year-old man who had refused to abandon his ceremonial post as caretaker of the mountain's spirits. Both the quake and the volcanic eruption happened along Indonesia's portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of fault lines that are prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. Collected here are early photos from the dual disasters, and the rescue and recovery efforts just underway. ATTENTION : SOME IMAGES CAN HURT

3. This aerial photo shows a damaged building in a village flattened by Monday's earthquake triggered tsunami on Pagai island, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

4. A structure off its foundation and other destruction is seen in this October 26, 2010 photo taken on North Pagai (Pagai Utara), one of the Mentawai islands off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island after an earthquake and following tsunami hit the area the night before. (RUS AKBAR/AFP/Getty Images)

5. 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

6. 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)

7. Villagers wrap recovered bodies in plastic in the tsunami-hit Muntei Baru Baru village, where hundreds of homes once stood, in the Cikakap subdistrict of Indonesia's Mentawai islands on October 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Disaster Management Agency)

8. Bodies of young children lie in the tsunami-hit Muntei Baru Baru village, in Indonesia's Mentawai islands on October 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Disaster Management Agency)

9. An aerial photograph taken from Vice President Boediono's helicopter shows a house swept away by a tsunami, leaving only the concrete floor area behind, in North Pagai island on October 27, 2010. (KRIS/AFP/Getty Images)

10. Uprooted trees and a battered structure on Pagai island, West Sumatra, Indonesia, damaged by Monday's earthquake-triggered tsunami. Photo taken on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

11. Australian tsunami survivors Daniel Scanlan, left, and injured Robert Marino walk on the pier upon their arrival at a port in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. The group of Australians said they were on the back deck of their chartered boat, anchored in a bay, when Monday's quake and tsunami struck. The 10-foot tsunami swept away hundreds of homes, and killed scores of villagers. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

12. Indonesian Vice President Boediono (3rd from right in white shirt), accompanied by officials, prays over recovered bodies of tsunami victims in North Pagai island on October 27, 2010. (KRIS/AFP/Getty Images)

13. The sun rises over a smoking Mount Merapi on August 8th of 2010. Original here. (Bernard Tey / CC BY-ND)

14. A government volcanologist monitors Mount Merapi activity from Volcano Monitoring Centre in Yogyakarta on October 25, 2010. Indonesia ordered thousands of people to evacuate from around Mount Merapi as it raised the alert for its most active volcano to red, warning of a possible imminent eruption. Mount Merapi, which lies around 25 kilometers north of the town of Yogyakarta in the center of Java, last erupted in June 2006. (CLARA PRIME/AFP/Getty Images)

15. 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)

16. 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)

17. 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)

18. Indonesian rescuers evacuate victims of Merapi volcano at Kinahrejo village, Sleman, Yogyakarta on October 26, 2010, after the volcano erupted three times. (CLARA PRIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

19. A rescuer carries a young victim at Kinahrejo village, Sleman, Yogyakarta on October 26, 2010 after the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano. (CLARA PRIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

20. Paramedics wheel a burned, ash-covered villager on a stretcher as Mount Merapi erupts, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

21. Paramedics carry an injured villager in Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

22. A mother carries her son as she runs following the erupution of Mount Merapi, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

23. A rescuer wheels a man, badly burned by an eruption of Mount Merapi, into a hospital in Pakem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

24. Burnt trees and ash cover the ground in the village of Kinarrejo in Sleman, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

25. Volunteers search for victims of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinahrejo village in Sleman, Indonesia on October 27, 2010. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

26. A bowl of noodles and a glass rest on a table, covered by ash at Mbah Marijan's house at Kinarrejo village in Sleman on October 27, 2010. Mbah Marijan, was considered to be the spiritual gatekeeper of Mount Merapi (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

27. A buffalo lies dead and covered with volcanic ash at a village hit by pyroclastic flows from Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

28. Indonesian search and rescue teams explore the area after Mount Merapi volcano erupted the night before in the village of Pakem in Sleman, Yogyakarta province on October 27, 2010. (CLARA PRIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

29. A car covered in volcanic ash sits amongst surrounding damage after Mount Merapi volcano erupted the night before in the village of Pakem in Sleman on October 27, 2010. (CLARA PRIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

30. A motorist covers his face with his jacket as he rides on an ash-covered road in Klaten, Central Java October 27, 2010 after Mount Merapi erupted on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Andry Prasetyo)

31. 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.(Tarko SUDIARNO/AFP/Getty Images)

32. A medic takes a look at the coffin of Merapi volcano guardian Grandfather Marijan next to other dead bodies at the Sarjito hospital in Yogyakarta on October 27, 2010. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

33. A rescue worker searches for victims of Mount Merapi eruption in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

34. Volcanic ash covers the interior of a house at a village badly hit by pyroclastic flows from Mount Merapi eruption in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

35. Volunteers carry the body of a victim of the Mount Merapi eruption at Kinarrejo village in Sleman on October 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

36. Cows covered with terrible burns stand outside a destroyed barn the day after Mount Merapi volcano erupted in the village of Pakem in Sleman, Yogyakarta province on October 27, 2010. (CLARA PRIMA/AFP/Getty Images)

37. Sukadi (right) prays at the burial of his brother, a victim of the Mount Merapi eruption, at Umbulhardjo village in Sleman, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, October 27, 2010. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

38. A man watches Mount Merapi as seen from Kaligendol, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo)

39. A rescuer stands at a village hit by pyroclastic flows from Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

40. 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. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

41. A rescue worker stands on a flattened building at a village hit by pyroclastic flows from Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

42. Rescuers search for victims at a village hit by pyroclastic flows from Tuesday's eruption of Mount Merapi in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

43. A withered tree stands in a village badly hit by pyroclastic flows from Mount Merapi eruption in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. Rescuers scoured the slopes of Indonesia's most volatile volcano Wednesday after it was rocked by an eruption that spewed clouds of searing ash. (AP Photo/Gembong Nusantara)

44. A villager walks past a buffalo killed in Mount Merapi eruption in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Gembong Nusantara)

45. Residents who fled their homes on the slope of Mount Merapi sit outside a temporary shelter in Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo)

46. Volcanic ash covers the interior of a house at a village badly hit by pyroclastic flows from Mount Merapi eruption in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

47. Indonesian women weep upon hearing that their relatives who were killed in Mount Merapi eruption have been identified at a temporary shelter in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah)

48. Indonesian women who are displaced by Mount Merapi eruption rest at a temporary shelter in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah)

49. Villagers who are displaced by Mount Merapi eruption rest at a temporary shelter in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

50. Villagers attend 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. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)