Mount Merapi National Park closed following eruption
The Jakarta Post
A motorcyclist passes along the Boyolali-Magelang route with Mount Merapi's phreatic eruption seen in Cepogo, Boyolali, Central Java, on Friday. (Antara/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho)
Mount Merapi National Park (TNGM) has closed all access routes to the mountain following the volcanic eruption on Friday morning at 7:32 a.m.
“All access ways to the tourist attractions, including hiking trails, are closed,” Mount Merapi National Park head Ammy Nurwati told KompasTravel on Friday morning.
Ammy noted that the national park management would keep an eye on tourists and mountaineers using the park’s facilities, as well as clear the summit area of hikers, “We are monitoring tourists [in the] inner part of the TNGM. The lava tour outside is also under our observation.”
Hiking on Mount Merapi is banned until further notice following the phreatic eruption.
Read also: 120 mountaineers rescued from Mount Merapi
The volcano erupted Friday morning, followed by a loud sound and medium to high pressure with a 5,500-meter height column from the top crater. The head of information and public relations of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said in a release that, “the eruption is categorized as a phreatic eruption, which happened due to pressure from steam that was formed as a result of water amassing and heating up under Mount Merapi’s crater.”
Sutopo added that the eruption produced volcanic ash, sand and pyroclastic material. (asw)
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