The head of Yogyakarta’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Hanik Humaida, warned that Merapi, Indonesia’s most energetic volcano, could erupt at any time, sending clouds of hot gas down the slopes as much as 5 kilometers (3 miles) high.
Edy Susanto, an official with an area disaster mitigation agency, said about 300 people from two villages, mostly elderly people, pregnant women and youngsters, were taken to shelters in Magelang district in central Java.
Susanto said emergency measures were being prepared to evacuate people living inside 6 km (3.7 miles) of the crater mouth, while local authorities in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces were closely monitoring the situation.
On Thursday, Indonesia’s geological agency raised the alert level in Merapi to the second highest level after sensors detected increased activity.
“This condition could trigger a magma extrusion process or an explosive eruption,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Raditya Jati said in an announcement.
He said authorities had stopped climbing on Merapi and mining activities along its rivers. Only disaster agency personnel and investigators shall be allowed to enter restricted areas.
Indonesia’s Sinabung volcano erupts, spewing an enormous column of ash
Indonesia’s Sinabung volcano erupts, spewing an enormous column of ash
The 2,968 meters (9,737 ft) high mountain is positioned about 30 km (18 mi) from Yogyakarta city center. About 1 / 4 of one million people live inside a ten km radius of the volcano.
In June, Merapi spewed a column of ash and hot gas into the sky 6 km (3.7 mi) high, but no casualties were reported.
During the last major eruption in 2010, 347 people died and 20,000 residents were evacuated.
Indonesia, an archipelago with greater than 270 million inhabitants, is positioned on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Government seismologists monitor greater than 120 energetic volcanoes.
