Indonesia’s Mount Merapi unleashed a torrent of hot clouds on Thursday morning, turning the sky a fiery red, as molten lava flowed down its slopes with the eruption forcing over 250 people to flee their homes, authorities have confirmed.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the volcano — one of the most active in the world – erupted multiple times overnight, spewing so much gas, volcanic ash, and rocks that flowed over five kilometres down its slopes, the head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency confirmed to newsmen on Thursday morning.
‘Due to the avalanches of hot clouds and ash, 253 people took shelter,‘ Abdul Muhari said in a statement.
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Meanwhile, residents around the area have been warned to steer clear of an area spanning a seven-kilometre radius surrounding Merapi’s crater over warnings of lava and airborne volcanic material, Muhari further revealed.
Hot clouds and smoke from the eruption blotted out the sky in parts of the densely-populated Java Island, near Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta.
Mount Merapi is on its second-highest alert level since November 2020 after showing renewed activity.
Its last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people and forced the evacuation of around 280,000 residents from surrounding areas.
That was its most powerful explosion since 1930, which killed around 1,300 people. An eruption in 1994 left about 60 people dead.
The Southeast Asian archipelago nation is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes.
In early December last year, rescuers in Indonesia reportedly raced to find survivors in villages blanketed by molten ash after the eruption of Mount Semeru which left no fewer than 13 people killed and dozens injured.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that the eruption of the biggest mountain on the island of Java caught locals by surprise on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing and forcing hundreds of families into makeshift shelters.
No fewer than 11 villages of Lumajang district in East Java were coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and vehicles, smothering livestock, and leaving at least 900 evacuees seeking shelter in mosques, schools, and village halls.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
