At Mt Merapi in Central Java, some local residents have repeatedly refused to obey official orders to evacuate during the frequent eruptions that plague this area. This refusal to evacuate is apparently influenced by their traditional beliefs (Schlehe, 1996; Dove, 2008; Donovan, 2010a). During the 2006 eruption, local people stated that they had not received the traditional warnings and refused to evacuate. Although they were fortunate to survive, hundreds were killed in 2010 when a moderately sized eruption
destroyed many villages on the southern flanks.