Indonesian volcano death toll rises

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http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/24/indonesia-merapi-volcano.html

Indonesian volcano death toll rises

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 | 12:30 PM ET CBC News

The number of people killed in recent eruptions of Indonesia's most volatile

volcano has risen to 324, according to an official.

Syamsul Maarif of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday

the official death toll from Mount Merapi's eruptions rose after some victims

succumbed to severe burns and more bodies were found on the volcano's slopes.

The volcano, located in the middle of the central Indonesian island of Java,

initially erupted Oct. 26 — less than 24 hours after a tsunami slammed into the

remote Mentawai islands at the western end of the country, killing 509 people.

Also, 173 people were killed by flash floods that hit West Papua province, on

the island of New Guinea, early last month.

Indonesia is prone to natural disasters because it sits along the Pacific " Ring

of Fire, " a horseshoe-shaped string of faults that lines the Pacific Ocean.