YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia—On Sunday, Mount Merapi erupted in Indonesia, causing people to be evacuated while other active volcanoes around the nation flared up. The eruption of Mount Merapi spewed scorching gas clouds and lava avalanches down its slopes.
According to Agus Budi Santoso, the director of Indonesia's Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center, Merapi unleashed clouds of hot ash and a combination of rock and lava that went up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) down its slopes on the heavily populated island of Java. He continued, adding that ash covered multiple towns without causing any injuries, and that a column of heated clouds shot 100 meters (approximately 109 yards) into the air.
Among the more than 120 volcanoes in the nation, Merapi is the most active. The eruption on Sunday is the most recent since officials upgraded the warning level to the second-highest in November 2020 in response to growing activity seen by sensors. Living on the slopes, residents were warned to avoid approaching the entrance of the crater more than 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) and to be on the lookout for any potential hazards from streaming lava.
2010 saw an eruption that uprooted 20,000 residents and claimed 347 lives.
The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) peak is located around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Yogyakarta, the home of royal dynasties dating back centuries and an important hub of Javanese culture. The population living within 10 km (6 miles) of the volcano is around a quarter of a million.
According to a statement issued on the social networking site X, previously known as Twitter, the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, many other active volcanoes erupted this past weekend, forcing officials to evacuate thousands of civilians. It stated there were no casualties recorded.
According to the agency, on Sunday, more than 6,500 people rushed to shelters as Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in East Nusa Tenggara province erupted into steamy clouds as high as 700 meters (2,300 ft).
Even though it didn't release any lava, Mount Marapi in the West Sumatra province erupted once more on Sunday, marking its third largest eruption of the month. Approximately five hundred nearby residents were evacuated. It erupted last month, killing 23 climbers and wounding several more.
On Saturday, both Mount Semeru in East Java province and Mount Ibu on Halmahera island in North Maluku province erupted into scorching gas clouds and lava rivers, sending a column of hot ashes as high as 1,300 meters (4,265 ft) into the sky.
The tallest volcano on Java Island, Mount Semeru, erupted in December 2021, killing 48 people and left 36 missing.
Indonesia, an island of 270 million people, is located in the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped network of seismic fault lines that encircles the Pacific Ocean, making it vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
