Merapi Volcano Erupts Again, Authorities Warn Residents for Volcanic Mudflow Threat

Merapi Volcano in Indonesia's Java Island erupted again, over a week after a powerful volcanic eruption sent plumes of ash high into the air, forced tourists to flee, and prompted the establishment of an exclusion zone.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the two significant volcanic eruptions at Mount Merapi this March.

However, increased volcanic activity remains.

Various reports showed that Indonesia's most active volcano and one of the world's most active one has blocked out the Sun during its eruption earlier in March and threatens nearby communities after releasing rock, lava, and gas.

Due to the volcanic threat, local authorities have warned residents in the area for volcanic mudflow threat and reduced visibility caused by volcanic material.

Merapi Volcano Erupts Again

(Photo : Photo by DEVI RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Lava spews out of Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano, as seen from the Tunggularum village in Sleman, Yogyakarta on March 13, 2023.

Merapi Volcano erupted again on Friday night, March 17, and has continued to spew volcanic ash and other geochemical material on Saturday, March 18.

Reported yet unobtained footage by the Indonesian government's Merapi Volcano Observatory showed flaming lava pouring from Merapi's crater and a tall column hot cloud rising 1,300 meters into the air, as cited by Channel News Asia.

Mount Merapi, locally known as Gunung Merapi, is the most volatile out of the 120 volcanoes in Indonesia.

It is a stratovolcano located along the border between the province of central Java and the Yogyakarta special region in Indonesia.

Also Read: Mount Merapi: Indonesia's Most Volatile Volcano Erupts, Spewing Lava and Ash

Mount Merapi Exclusion Zone

According to a YouTube video report of AP Archive, Mount Merapi's sudden eruption blanketed several villages with falling ash, citing a statement from Hanik Humaida, head of Yogyakarta's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, that the March 11 eruption was the largest lava flow since the Indonesian government raised the volcanic danger level in November 2020.

Humaida said residents living on the volcano's slopes were advised by authorities to stay 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) away from the crater's mouth.

Tourism and mining activities around Merapi Volcano were also halted until further notice.

Local officials have raised the alert level of Mount Merapi to the second highest out of four levels since it exhibited increased volcanic activity and went erupting in November 2020, The Associated Press reported.

2010, 1930 Mount Merapi Eruptions

Being an active volcano, Mount Merapi is not new to sporadic and explosive volcanic outbursts, wherein it has 68 historic eruptions since 1548 and the modern eruption starting in 1987, according to the Oregon State University.

In 2010, Merapi Volcano's last major eruption occurred and killed over 300, forcing the evacuation of approximately 280,000 residents across the region.

In 1930, the volcano's most powerful eruption transpired in recorded history, wherein around 1,300 people died.

Reports stated the eruption burnt and suffocated the victims.

Indonesia sits within the "Ring of Fire," a horse shoe-shaped region across the Pacific Ocean where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are dynamic due to active seismic activities caused by the frequent collision of tectonic plates underneath the Earth.