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Mount Merapi spews hot ash
The eruption occurred at 6:21 a.m., reaching 1,500 meters in height and lasting around 160 seconds.
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Residents carry food during Merapi Kenduri in Kaliadem Village, Sleman, Central Java, on Oct. 14. The village is around 4.5 kilometers away from the top of Mount Merapi. (JP/Boy T Harjanto)
M
ount Merapi in Central Java began to spew volcanic ash on Saturday morning, bringing down mild ash rain on several villages located on its slopes.
The eruption occurred at 6:21 a.m., reaching 1,500 meters in height and lasting around 160 seconds.
"The eruption of hot ash was recorded [at a] maximum amplitude of 65 [millimeters] and a duration of about 160 seconds. The eruption reached 1,500 m from the peak, leaning toward the west," the National Disaster and Mitigation Agency spokesperson Agus Wibowo said in a statement on Saturday.
As a result, some villages in Boyolali and Magelang regencies of Central Java experienced mild ash rain, with no reports of ash sighting in Yogyakarta, the statement said.
"In relation to the ash rain, residents are advised to [wear] face masks when leaving the house," Agus added.
He went on to advise residents to stay clear of areas within a 3-kilometer radius of the peak of Merapi to avoid any possible danger.
As the latest development was not considered a threat to local residents living on Merapi’s slopes, authorities decided to maintain the alert level at waspada (caution), the second-highest level in the country's four-tiered alert system, which had been imposed since May 21, 2018.
