Villagers returning to volcano area

Indonesia warned that one of its deadliest volcanoes was poised to erupt and ordered nearly 30,000 people living along its slopes to evacuate. But some residents defied the warnings and left refugee centers today to tend crops and animals.

With no compensation for farmers’ losses, it is difficult to force them to leave their villages. Another worry is that thieves will target empty properties. Some inhabitants also said they had not been fed at the shelters.

“There was no food at all,” said Darmiashiah, a 33-year-old woman who returned to the evacuation zone. “If I get told to leave again, I will not go,” said Darmiashiah, who goes by a single name.

The 5,679-foot Mt. Kelud last erupted in 1990. In 1919, an explosion destroyed 100 villages and killed 5,160 people. The mountain is on Java island about 385 miles east of the capital, Jakarta.