The Activity Of Mount Merapi Is Still High, In The Week 6 Lava Falls 1.8 Km

Mount Merapi on the border of Central Java (Central Java) and the Special Region of Yogyakarta 9DIY released lava avalanches six times over the past week period from 27 January-2 February 2023.

"This week, lava avalanches were observed six times to the southwest or to Bebeng River and Sat/White River with a maximum sliding distance of 1,800 meters (1.8 km)," said Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), Agus Budi Santoso, in a written statement, Sunday, February 5, confiscated by Antara.

During the week, Agus said, the sound of avalanches was also heard from Babadan Post five times. The intensity of the sound of the avalanche was small to moderate.

He said, based on morphological analysis from the camera stations of Deles5, Tunggularum, Babadan 2, and Ngepos, the southwest dome and the central dome were not observed with significant changes.

Based on air photos on January 13, 2023, the volume of the southwest dome of Merapi was fixed at 1,598,700 cubic meters and for the middle dome it was 2,267,400 cubic meters.

The intensity of Merapi's seismicity over the past week, according to him, is still high.

During that period, Mount Merapi was recorded to have experienced 707 deep volcanic earthquakes, 16 shallow volcanic earthquakes, 61 multi-phase earthquakes, 194 avalanches, four gusts, and nine tectonic earthquakes.

The deformation of Mount Merapi, which was monitored using EDM and GPS this week, did not show any significant changes.

Until now, BPPTKG still maintains the status of Mount Merapi on the border of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta at Level III or Alert.

The lava fall and hot clouds from Mount Merapi can have an impact on areas in the south-southwest sector which includes the Boyong River (a maximum of five km) and the Bedog River, Krasak, Bebeng (a maximum of seven km).

In addition, lava avalanches and hot clouds from Mount Merapi can have an impact on areas in the southeast sector which include the Woro River (a maximum of three km) and the Gendol River (a distance of five km).

If the volcano experienced an explosive eruption, Agus said, the ejection of volcanic material could reach an area within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.