Mount Merapi Erupts, BNPB Urges Sleman Residents to Evacuate

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in Sleman urged the residents living within five kilometers from the peak of Mount Merapi including Kinahrejo area to evacuate.

“The residents evacuated themselves to a safer place,” said BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho via a short message, Friday, May 11.

Sutopo appealed the hikers in Mount Merapi to follow the suggestion and to not heading near the peak crater. Based on the report, 120 people hike the mount and are currently heading to Bubrah Market. “They are all safe,” Sutopo confirmed.

Mount Merapi in Central Java spewed phreatic eruption today at 07:32 local times with a height of 5,500 meters from the top of the crater. The explosion was followed by a moderate to strong thunder sound. The eruption blasted volcanic ash, sand, and pyroclastic material. "It was a sudden eruption," Sutopo underlined.

The status of Mount Merapi, as of press time, is still normal at Level I with a dangerous radius of 3 kilometers from the top of the crater.

BNPB Sleman has distributed the masks for the people. The ash is predicted to affect the area around Mount Merapi, particularly in the south region, depending on the wind flow. It is reported that volcanic ash rain occurred in Tugu Kaliurang, Sleman, Yogyakarta. 

Amri Mahbub