Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts

Mount Merapi, March 11

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Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupted on Saturday with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining activities 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 travelled up to 7 kilometres down its slopes.

A column of hot clouds rose 100 metres (yards) into the air, said the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari.

The eruption throughout the day blocked out the sun and blanketed several villages with falling ash. No casualties 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, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.

She said residents living on Merapi’s slopes were advised to stay 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) away from the crater’s mouth and be aware of the danger posed by lava.

Tourism and mining activities were halted. About a quarter million people live within 10 kilometres (6 miles) of the volcano.

The 2,968-metre (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Yogyakarta, an ancient centre of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties going back centuries.

Merapi volcano is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has repeatedly erupted with lava and gas clouds recently. — AP