Indonesia's Mount Merapi Volcano Erupts

Indonesia's Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, erupted on Saturday.

The volcano spewed avalanches of lava and searing gas clouds which blanketed many villages.

It also forced authorities to halt tourism and mining activities on the slopes of the mountain.

The National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari said; "Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that traveled up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) down its slopes."

It was Merapi's biggest lava flow since authorities raised the alert level to the second-highest in November 2020, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.

She said residents living on Merapi’s slopes were advised to stay 7 kilometers away from the crater's mouth and be aware of the danger posed by lava.

Merapi is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has repeatedly erupted recently.

Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and displaced 20,000 villagers.