LAVA FLOWS 2ND QUAKE

Lava Flowing From Indonesian Volcano 2 hours, 35 minutes ago

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Red-hot lava began flowing from the crater of Indonesia's rumbling volcano Mount Merapi early Thursday as vulcanologists warned residents an eruption may be imminent. Burning streams of molten lava started pouring down the slopes at about 2 a.m. local time, said Subandriyo, the chief of Merapi's Volcanology and Monitoring offices, who goes by a single name. Residents still near the 9,700-foot peak were urged to leave immediately, even though officials said they were not yet raising the alert to the highest level. The volcano has shown significantly more activity," Subandriyo said.

Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. It last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.

Aftershocks Hit Tonga; No Warning Issued Thu May 4, 1:13 PM ET

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - A series of aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 6.0 rocked the South Pacific island nation of Tonga into Friday morning, a day after an even more powerful quake triggered a tsunami warning. A tsunami warning was not issued Friday, and there was no sign of damage from the aftershocks. The U.S. Geological Survey said at least six aftershocks occurred near Tonga, while others were recorded near Fiji and Vanuatu. The strongest aftershock occurred at 12:25 a.m. local time at a depth of almost 24 miles.

It was located 85 miles east-northeast of Nuku'alofa and 1,310 miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. On Thursday, a magnitude-7.9 temblor struck about 95 miles south of Neiafu, Tonga, and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. A tsunami warning was issued for as far away as Fiji and New Zealand, but it was lifted within two hours after ocean buoys recorded a tsunami of less than 2 feet. No injuries or damages were reported. But word of the imminent danger never reached the tiny country closest to the epicenter. Nearly 18 months after an earthquake-driven tsunami in the Indian Ocean left at least 216,000 people dead or missing, sparking international calls for a better warning system, Pacific islanders received little or no notice of Thursday's threat.

A warning issued by the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center first went out 16 minutes after the 4:26 a.m. earthquake, which occurred 34 miles below sea level. But Tonga did not receive the alert because of a power failure there, said the center's acting director, Gerard Fryer. Mali'u Takai, deputy director of the Tonga's National Disaster Office, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that no warning was received.