Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupted on Saturday with avalanches of burning gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining operations on the slopes of the country’s most active volcano.
Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that traveled up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) down its slopes. A column of hot clouds rose 100 meters (yards) into the air, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said.
The eruption throughout the day blocked the sun and covered several villages with falling ash. No injuries have been reported.
It was Merapi’s biggest lava flow since authorities raised the alert level to the second highest in November 2020, said Hanik Humaida, director of Yogyakarta’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
She said residents living on Merapi’s slopes were advised to stay 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the crater’s mouth and be aware of the danger from lava.
Mount Merapi spews volcanic material during an eruption in Sleman, Indonesia, Saturday, March 11, 2023.
AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi
Tourism and mining operations were halted.
The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Yogyakarta, an ancient center of Javanese culture and seat of royal dynasties dating back centuries. About a quarter of a million people live within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the volcano.
Merapi is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has repeatedly erupted with lava and gas clouds recently. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and displaced 20,000 villagers.
Men watch as Mount Merapi spews volcanic material during an eruption in Sleman, Indonesia, Saturday, March 11, 2023.
AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.
A December 2021 eruption of Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on the island of Java, left 48 people dead and 36 missing.
A motorcyclist wearing a mask rides by in an area covered in ash after Mount Merapi erupted and spewed volcanic material in Stabelan village on March 11, 2023 in Boyolali, Central Java, Indonesia.
Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
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