Indonesia: Volcano erupts, thousands evacuated

Thousands of people have been evacuated after a series of volcanoes, including Merapi on the Indonesian island of Java, erupted, CTV News reported.

Merapi volcano eruption area (red). Photo: Google Maps

Agus Budi Santoso, head of Indonesia’s Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Agency, said the mixture of rock and lava had traveled as far as 2km down the slopes of Mount Merapi. Columns of ash as high as 100m covered some nearby villages, but fortunately there were no casualties.

Merapi (2,968m) is the most active of more than 120 volcanoes across Indonesia. This eruption is the latest since authorities raised the alert level for the volcano to the second highest level in November 2020 after sensor data recorded increasing geological activity there.

People living on the slopes of the volcano have been advised to stay at least 7km away from the crater and be aware of the threat of lava flows. A previous eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010 killed 347 people and forced 20,000 villagers to relocate.

The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said that in addition to Mount Merapi, several other volcanoes also erupted over the weekend, including Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in East Nusa Tenggara province, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, Mount Semeru in East Java province, and Mount Ibu on Halmahera island in North Maluku province. Local authorities had to evacuate thousands of residents to prevent danger.

There have been no reports of damage following these latest eruptions.

PEARL

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