Danger rising: Thick smoke rising during an eruption from Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, as seen from Tunggularum village in Sleman, while a trishaw rider (inset) rides through Magelang city covered in volcanic ash during the eruption. — AFP
Indonesia’s Merapi volcano erupted, spewing hot cloud up to 7km, the country’s disaster management agency said in a statement.
The volcano located in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta special region erupted around 12pm local time and a lava flow of 1.5km was observed, the local authority said yesterday.
Residents in the nearby community had been warned to stop any activity in the danger zones, range between three to 7km radius from the crater, the statement said.
The 2,963m-high Merapi is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes and was already on the country’s second-highest alert level.
An official at a local monitoring post, Yulianto, said no residents had been evacuated.
“This has only been observed as a one-time event, there have been five or six avalanches.
“If the coverage continues to increase and the distance is further than 7km, it is likely that the residents will be recommended to evacuate,” he said.
Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country.
Merapi last violently erupted in 2010, killing more than 350 people. — Reuters
