BPPTKG: Mount Merapi Launches 116 Lava Falls In A Week

YOGYAKARTA - The Center for Research and Development of Geological Disaster Technology (BPPTKG) said Mount Merapi, on the border of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta, released lava avalanches 116 times over the past week.

"Lava fall was observed 116 times to the southwest with a maximum sliding distance of 2,000 meters," said Head of BPPTKG Hanik Humaida in an official statement in Yogyakarta quoted by Antara, Friday, December 17.

He said that based on observations from December 10-16, 2021, the active volcano was also observed three times releasing hot clouds of avalanches towards the upper reaches of the Bebeng River with a sliding distance of 2,000 meters.

Meanwhile, based on morphological analysis of the Deles5, Tunggularum, Ngepos, and Babadan2 Camera Stations, no significant morphological changes were observed, either the southwest or the central dome.

Hanik said the volume of the southwest lava dome of Merapi is 1,622,000 cubic meters and the middle dome is 3,007,000 cubic meters.

The intensity of the Merapi earthquake this week, he said, was still quite high compared to last week.

The deformation of Mount Merapi which is monitored using EDM, he said, also still shows a shortening rate of 0.4 cm per day.

This week it rained at the Mount Merapi Observation Post with an intensity of 77 mm per hour for 180 minutes at the Kaliurang Post on December 16, 2021.

"There are no reports of lahars or additional flows in the rivers that originate at Mount Merapi," he said.

Until now, BPPTKG still maintains the status of Mount Merapi's activity at Level III or Standby.

The lava fall and hot clouds of Mount Merapi are estimated to have an impact on the southeast-southwest sector for a maximum of three kilometers to the Woro river and five kilometers to the Gendol, Kuning, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and White rivers.

If the volcano experiences an explosive eruption, the ejection of volcanic material can reach an area within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.