The Height Of The Southwest Lava Dome Of Mount Merapi Increases By 1 Meter, Residents Are Asked To Be Alert

JAKARTA - The Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) said the height of the lava dome in the southwest of Mount Merapi had increased by 1 meter based on observations for a week.

Head of BPPTKG Hanik Humaida in a written statement in Yogyakarta, Friday, said the increase in the height of the lava dome was based on the results of morphological analysis from the Deles 5, Tunggularum, Ngepos, and Babadan 2 Camera Stations for the period 24-30 September 2021.

"It was observed that the height of the southwest lava dome was increased by about 1 meter," said Hanik as quoted by Antara.

From the results of the analysis, BPPTKG recorded the volume of the southwest lava dome of 1,630,000 cubic meters and the middle dome of 2,854,000 cubic meters.

During the week's observation, he said, Merapi 67 launched a lava avalanche to the southwest with a maximum sliding distance of 1,800 meters.

In a week, Mount Merapi experienced 244 low-frequency (LF) earthquakes, 1,268 multi-phase earthquakes (MP), 1,200 avalanches (RF), 338 gusts (DG), and six tectonic earthquakes (TT).

"The intensity of the earthquake this week is still quite high," he said.

BPPTKG currently maintains the status of Mount Merapi's volcanic activity at Level III or Alert.

Residents are asked to be aware of the potential impact of lava flows and hot clouds of Mount Merapi in the south-southwest sector which includes the Yellow, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih rivers.

"If an eruption occurs, the ejection of volcanic material from Mount Merapi can reach an area within a radius of 3 kilometers from the top of the mountain," said Hanik Humaida.