Red alert for Indonesia volcano
Thousands living under the volcano have been told to leave.
See the volcano
Thousands of people living on the slopes of Mount Merapi in Indonesia are being taken to safety, because of fears the volcano may be about to erupt.
Old people, women and children have been taken to emergency shelters, after officials monitoring the volcano raised the threat status to the highest level.
The volcano has been rumbling for weeks but is becoming more volatile.
Streams of lava have been flowing down one side of the mountain, which is also spewing out hot volcanic ash and smoke.
However some villagers have refused to move because they do not want to leave their crops and livestock.
Danger zone
The lava has not reached any residential areas - but the BBC＇s Rachel Harvey in Indonesia says the authorities are not taking any chances.
"This morning we raised the status of Merapi to the top alert which is the red code," Subandrio, head of the Merapi section at the Centre for Volcanological Research and Technology Development said on Saturday.
Mount Merapi is in a state of "constant lava flow"
"Every resident has been ordered to evacuate."
Military trucks have been used to ferry thousands of people away from the danger zone.
Officials have been struggling to conduct mass evacuations as some villagers are reluctant to leave their valuable farmland.
Some residents told officials they are worried about their property, cattle and crops.
However on Saturday a resident told Reuters news agency by phone: "Everything ran smoothly, just like the exercises".
No choice
The scientists still cannot say when the volcano will erupt nor how powerful any explosion might be.
Merapi - which means "mountain of fire" - is now in a state of "constant lava flow".
A gas cloud from the volcano＇s last eruption in 1994 killed 60 people.
Local television has been showing dramatic night-time pictures of a stream of lava slipping down one side of the mountain.
How and why volcanoes erupt.
Animated guide
But scientists warn that the greatest danger could come from hot gasses expelled from the volcano＇s crater.
Volcanologist Bambang Dwiyanto said the alert had been raised because "there has been constant lava flows that cause hot gases".
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla toured the area on Thursday and ordered 50% of the population in the danger zone be moved.
Indonesia, part of the Asia-Pacific "Ring of Fire", has at least 129 active volcanoes.
Mount Merapi, which some locals consider sacred, overlooks the ancient city of Jogjakarta.
One of its deadliest eruptions was in 1930, when about 1,300 people were killed.
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