Fiery peak: Lava flowing down from the crater of Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, as seen from Tunggul Arum in the city of Turi near Yogyakarta. — AFP
THE country’s most volatile volcano was erupting again, releasing plumes of ash high into the air and sending streams of lava and debris down its slopes. No casualties were reported.
An avalanche of rocks spilled down Mount Merapi’s slopes before dawn and clouds of hot ash shot 200m into the air as the mountain groaned and rumbled, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre.The volcano unleashed hot clouds of ash at least eight times since the morning as well as a series of pyroclastic flows – a mixture of rock, debris, lava and gasses – that had reached nearly 2km down its slopes, Humaida said.
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