Mount Merapi Emits Incandescent Lava 13 Times on Saturday

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mount Merapi, standing on the border between Yogyakarta and Central Java, erupted 13 times on Saturday, with incandescent lava flowing up to a kilometer in the southwest, from 00:00 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time.

"Based on monitoring, the mount has erupted 13 times, with incandescent lava flowing as far as one kilometer to the southwest direction," Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) Hanik Humaida noted in a written statement on Saturday.

During the observation period, 50 earthquakes were detected within the volcano, with an amplitude of 3-35 mm for a duration of 8-100 seconds, and another five earthquake gusts, with an amplitude of 2-9 mm, for 8-24 seconds.

On the basis of observations, white crater smoke of moderate to thick intensity was observed bellowing as high as 400 meters from the crater’s peak.

The mountain weather was sunny. Weak to moderate winds blew to the east, west, and northwest, with air temperatures of 14-23 degrees Celsius, air humidity of 64-85 percent, and air pressure reaching 569-708 mmHg.

The BPPTKG continues to maintain the status of Mount Merapi at Level III.

The lava and hot clouds of Mount Merapi are projected to impact areas in the south to the southwest that comprise Sungai Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih.

In the meantime, Mount Merapi's volcanic material could disperse as far three kilometers from the mountain's peak.

Read: Mount Merapi Spews Lava 12 Times in Single Day

ANTARA