Mount Marapi Erupts at Midnight, Spewing Ash 1.5km High

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted again in the early hours of Wednesday, March 27, just 13 minutes after midnight. The Marapi Volcano Monitoring Post (PGA) recorded that the height of the volcanic ash column from the eruption reached 1,500 meters from the top of Verbeek peak.

“It is the highest eruption column since the eruption on December 3, 2023,” Head of PGA Marapi, Teguh Purnomo, said in an official statement on Wednesday morning.

The seismogram recorded that the eruption had a maximum amplitude of 38.7 millimeters for around one minute 45 seconds. “The ash column was observed to be gray with thick intensity leaning towards the west,” Teguh added.

According to him, the volcanic activity had slowed down on March 25-26 as there were no volcanic eruptions or gusts during that period.

However, Mount Marapi had 66 eruptions and 1,560 gusts from January 2024 to March 27, making it the volcano with the highest eruption intensity in Indonesia.

Teguh appealed to the public to stay away from the volcano and to refrain from carrying out activities within a 4.5-kilometer radius of the Verbeek crater. Mount Marapi remains at alert level III or High Alert (Siaga).

People residing near valleys, streams, and riverbanks that drain from the volcano’s summit are advised to be aware of potential lava flows, especially during the rainy season. Residents are also encouraged to wear nose and mouth coverings to avoid respiratory tract problems (ARI) and to protect clean water facilities.

FACHRI HAMZAH

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