Mount Merapi Ejects Hot Clouds Avalanches Flowing 1,400 Meter

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mount Merapi on the border of Central Java Province and Yogyakarta ejects hot cloud avalanches with a sliding distance of 1,400 meters to the southwest on Wednesday, August 4, 2021.

Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), Hanik Humaida through his official statement in Yogyakarta, Wednesday, said the hot cloud avalanche occurred at 05:41 WIB.

"Heat cloud avalanche was recorded on the seismogram with an amplitude of 16 mm and a duration of 141 seconds," he said.

During the observation period from 00:00 to 06:00 WIB, incandescent lava avalanches were observed to have erupted six times  from Mount Merapi with a maximum distance of 2,000 meters to the southwest.

The active volcano was also recorded to experience one avalanche earthquake with an amplitude of 16 mm for 141 seconds, 54 avalanches with an amplitude of 3-17 mm for 9-117 seconds, 87 times a multi-phase earthquake with an amplitude of 3-43 mm for 3-6 seconds.

Afterwards, there were two blowing earthquakes with an amplitude of 4 mm for 8-10 seconds, 20 shallow volcanic earthquakes with an amplitude of 19-75 mm for 7-13 seconds and two distant tectonic earthquakes with an amplitude of 3-4 mm for 78-83 seconds.

Until now, BPPTKG still maintains the status of Mount Merapi at level III or standby.

The lava and hot clouds of Mount Merapi are expected to have an impact on the south-southwest sector, which includes the Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih rivers. When an eruption occurs, the ejection of volcanic material from Mount Merapi is estimated to be able to reach an area within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.\

Read: Mount Merapi Spews Incandescent Lava 15 Times on Sunday

ERWIN PRIMA | MAUDEY K. SETYAKUSUMA