An earthquake survivor collects water from a well at a devastated area in Palbapang, near Bantul, Indonesia. Indonesia prepared Tuesday to immunize tens of thousands of earthquake survivors against tetanus and measles, as a nearby volcano - Mount Merapi, pictured below - sent out fresh clouds of searing hot gas clouds and lava streams.

Mount Merapi, Indonesia ? Officials evacuated 11,000 villagers from around Mount Merapi volcano as it shot out lava and superheated clouds of gas, authorities said Tuesday.

The mountain’s lava dome has swelled in recent weeks, raising fears that it could suddenly collapse and send scalding clouds of fast-moving gas and debris into populated areas.

The government of nearby Magelang district mobilized more than 40 trucks and cars to evacuate about 11,000 villagers from three subdistricts near the foot of the mountain, said Edy Susanto, a district official.

He said the villagers were taken to temporary shelters, including school buildings.

Red-hot lava flowed as far as a half-mile from the mountain’s crater, while gas clouds called pyroclastic flows streamed as far as 1 1/2 miles down its southwestern slope.

Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts as seen from Kalikuning village early Tuesday June 6, 2006 outside Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Lava and superheated clouds of gas poured repeatedly down the upper slopes of Indonesia's Mount Merapi on Tuesday, and officials warned of danger to nearby villages. (AP Photo /Sumaryanto Bronto)

The 9,800-foot mountain is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Activity has risen since a 6.3-magnitude earthquake May 27 hit a region about 20 miles to the south, killing at least 5,862 people.

A major eruption could severely strain quake relief efforts.

Indonesia is located on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. It has 76 volcanoes, the largest number of any nation.