Mt Merapi Again Erupts On Early Thursday

YOGYAKARTA, May 24 (Antara)- Mount Merapi again erupted on Thursday at 2:56 a.m. local time producing a smoke column reaching a height of up to 6,000 meters. "The height of the smoke column is 6,000 meters toward west and it lasted four minutes. The roar can be heard from every observation post," the Yogyakarta technology development and research center for geological disaster (BPPTKG), tweeted here, Thursday. The eruption had maximum amplitude at 60 mm and produced red-hot lava. The volcanic eruption also triggered sand rain in Magelang area and quite thick ash rains affecting Srumbung, Sawangan, Muntilan Borobudur. Wahyu Pristiawan, commander of the Swift Reaction Team of Yogyakarta, urged local inhabitants living near the mountain to wear face masks and remain vigilant. Indonesia's geological agency has raised Merapi's alert status from normal to "beware" following increased activity. Located at the border of the provinces of Central Java and Yogyakarta, Merapi, a steep stratovolcano, is the most active of the 130 volcanoes in Indonesia. Mount Merapi, or "Mountain of Fire," rises to 9,551 feet, or 2,911 meters, and has steep slopes, with dense vegetation on its lower flanks. It erupts every five to 10 years on an average and is feared for its deadly pyroclastic flows that are avalanches of hot rocks and gas generated when parts of new lava domes constructed during eruptions in the summit crater collapse and slide down the mountain's steep flanks. The Indonesian authorities have raised the alert status for the volatile Mount Merapi volcano on the densely populated island of Java and ordered people within three kilometers, or two miles, to evacuate. The eruptions of Mount Merapi in 2010 claimed over 300 lives and displaced upwards of 130,000 people.