On August 16, Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted with its largest lava flow in months, pouring a torrent of lava and scorching gas clouds 3.5 kilometres down its hillsides on Java’s highly urbanized coastline.
Mount Merapi erupted, spewing hot ash 600 meters (almost 2,000 feet) into the air, and the booming sound could be heard many kilometres (miles) away. Nearby communities were covered in ash, but long-standing weather warnings were in effect around the volcano, and no fatalities were recorded.
According to Hanik Humaida, the chief of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre, it was Merapi’s largest lava flow after officials upgraded the risk status last November. The lava cone immediately below Merapi’s southwest edge, as well as the lava arch in the basin, both have been hot since the end of July, according to her. Before partially cracking Monday, the southwest rim dome capacity was predicted to be 66.9 million cubic feet and roughly 9.8 feet tall, releasing explosive eruptions along the southwest slope at least 2 times.
On the continent of Java, the 9,737-foot summit lies near Yogyakarta, a historic city of several hundred thousand inhabitants entrenched in a huge metro region. The city is a cultural hub in Java and the seat of historical lineages that is going on back in decades.
Merapi’s threat amount has remained at the second largest of four stages since it started exploding last November and leading to growing volcanic activity in the previous week, the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre has not elevated it. Mount Merapi is the most dynamic of Indonesia’s more than 120 hazardous volcanoes, erupting with lava and gaseous plumes on several occasions lately.
The director of the general district safety organization, Makwan, was reported by the Antara media outlet as stating, “We are collecting an inventory of vehicles that will be utilized to evacuate residents.” “There has been no ash rain in residential areas so far,” he added. People should keep 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) away from the crater’s entrance and be aware of the dangers of lava, according to the agency.
Authorities relocated about 2,000 people who live on the mountain range arid plains in Magelang and Sleman districts in November, and around 550 more in January, but the majority have already returned. Merapi’s most recent big outburst, in 2010, killed 347 individuals and forced 20,000 residents to flee.
As it stands along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped network of tectonic active faults encircling the sea, Indonesia, an island of 270 million people, is susceptible to disasters and volcanic eruptions.
Anak Krakatau’s sequence of explosions in 2018, which also generated a catastrophic tsunami, caused significant damage and led officials to divert aircraft.
