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Volcanology center advises 3 km safe distance from erupting Mt. Merapi
The volcano is in a state of effusive eruption, producing 3,000 cubic meters of lava a day.
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White smoke wafts out of the crater of Mount Merapi in this file photo. Lava is currently flowing out of the volcano at a rate of 3,000 cubic meters per day, which has prompted the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM) to advise people to remain at a minimum safe distance of 3 kilometers. (JP/Boy T. Harjanto)
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he Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM) has advised residents and visitors to stay away from Mount Merapi in Magelang, Central Java, following increased volcanic activity.
Since Aug. 11, steadily flowing viscous lava from the volcano – or effusive eruption – has created a lava dome on top of the mountain. The dome continues to grow daily as Mt. Merapi extrudes around 3,000 cubic meters of lava per day.
CVGHM head Kasbani said the growing dome could collapse at some point and spew hot clouds of volcanic gases as well as lava. Residents and visitors were thus advised to stay at a safe distance of at least 3 kilometers around the volcano.
“The lava dome, however, is still in a stable condition at present. Therefore, we will maintain the waspada [alert] status for now,” Kasbani said on Monday, referring to the second of the four-level national volcano alert system.
Separately, Agus Budi Santoso, the head of the Merapi Monitoring Post and the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), said that the extrusion of hot clouds of gas from the dome could become a possibility if the lava flow increased to 600,000 cubic meters per day. (vny/swd)
