Mount Merapi Releases Searing Clouds Southward Up to 1.5 Kilometers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mount Merapi, located on the border between Yogyakarta and Central Java, emitted scalding clouds as far as 1.5 kilometers to the southwest direction on Tuesday morning.

Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) Hanik Humaida noted in her official statement on Tuesday that the hot clouds began bellowing from the mountain at 7:06 a.m. local time.

"The hot clouds, recorded on the seismograph, have an amplitude of 60 mm and lasted for 135 seconds," Humaida remarked.

During the observation period from 00:00 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time, Mount Merapi emitted incandescent lava 19 times as far as one kilometer to the southwest.

A total of 50 earthquakes, with an amplitude of 3-20 mm and a duration of 10-92 seconds, were also detected at the active volcano, with one gust earthquake having an amplitude of 2 mm for 11 seconds, and two phase earthquakes, with an amplitude of 2 mm for five seconds.

The BPPTKG announced on Monday night that the mountain had released incandescent lava six times up to 800 meters to the southwest.

The center continues to maintain the status of Mount Merapi at Level III or alert.

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

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

Read: Tourists Advised to Stay Far from Mount Merapi

ANTARA