JAKARTA – Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in the country, erupted today, spewing a cloud of ash into the air as red lava flowed down its crater.
The early morning explosion ejected clouds as far as 3.5km from the rumbling volcano, blanketing local communities in grey ash.
There was no evacuation order or casualty report.
Merapi, close to the cultural capital Yogyakarta on Java Island, has been particularly active in recent months, and authorities raised its danger level late last year.
Residents were told to avoid the area within a 5km radius of the volcano, said a local geological agency.
“Residents should avoid volcanic ash and have been warned about potential lava flows in the area surrounding Merapi.”
Mount Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people and forced the evacuation of about 280,000 residents from surrounding areas.
That was its most powerful eruption since 1930, when around 1,300 people were killed, while another explosion in 1994 claimed about 60 lives.
The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has almost 130 active volcanoes.
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide. – AFP, August 16, 2021
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