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Merapi eruption: Authorities advise caution
While activities at Mt. Merapi had declined by Sunday, the local volcano monitoring unit has advised caution to anticipate the potential for other eruptions in the coming days.
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ollowing several eruptions of hot ash clouds on Saturday and Sunday from Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, authorities said people living outside of the hazard zone can continue with their day-to-day activities but were encouraged to take precautionary measures.
The Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), a special Yogyakarta-based unit of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (CVGDM) for monitoring Mt. Merapi, recorded at least 54 columns of hot ash in just over a 24-hour period following the volcano’s eruption on Saturday.
“People [near] Merapi, both local residents and tourists, can still carry out their activities as usual, as long as [any] eruptions still fall within the [volcanic] hazard assessment,” BPPTKG head Agus Budi Santoso told a livestreamed press conference on Sunday.
Although the intensity of volcanic activity decreased on Sunday compared to the previous day, Agus said there was still potential for more “explosive eruptions and hot [ash] clouds” over the next few days.
This could affect people who lived in the volcano hazard zone within a radius of 7 kilometer to the southwest and 5 km southeast from the crater, he said, while potential rainfall could also pose a threat of lahar, or volcanic mudflows, to residents of riverbank settlements.
One of the columns of ash recorded on Saturday spread as far as 4 km southwest from the volcano in the direction of Bebeng River in Magelang regency, Central Java.
Agus also called on local residents and administrations to prepare for the worst by taking precautionary measures, such as evacuation drills and preparing emergency facilities, to anticipate the possibility of more eruptions.
Merapi’s latest volcanic activity started with an eruption at around 12 p.m. on Saturday that spewed out hot ash clouds as far as 4 km from its crater.
According to BPPTKG data, the eruptions that followed led to reports of ash fall in a number of areas in the regencies of Magelang, Boyolali, Temanggung, Wonosobo and Banjarnegara. The affected area furthest from Merapi was Kalibening district in Banjarnegara, at around 100 km away from the volcano.
Despite showing renewed activity, Merapi’s alert level remains unchanged since November 2020, when it was raised to Siaga (watch), the second-highest level in the four-tier national volcano alert system.
Following the string of eruptions, the Magelang administration in Central Java has begun cleaning up volcanic ash in the city with the help of local volunteers.
“The first thing we did to deal with the volcanic ash was to spray down a number of public spaces, including parks and several main thoroughfares in Magelang, starting with the city center on Saturday night,” acting Magelang secretary Larsita said on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
