Indonesia’s Merapi volcano spews ash, debris in new eruption

Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center has advised villagers living on Merapi’s slopes to stay 5km (3.1 miles) from its crater and be aware of the peril of lava.

Indonesia’s most volatile volcano was erupting again on Saturday, releasing plumes of ash high into the air and sending streams of lava and debris down its slopes. No casualties were reported. An avalanche of rocks spilled down Mount Merapi’s slopes before dawn and clouds of hot ash shot 200 meters (656ft) into the air as the mountain groaned and rumbled, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center. The volcano unleashed hot clouds of ash at least eight times since the morning as well as a series of pyroclastic flows – a mixture of rock, debris, lava and gasses – that had reached nearly 2km (1.2 miles) down its slopes, Mr. Humaida said.