Although Still Level III, PVMBG Calls Mount Merapi Activities Tend To Decrease

Illustration: Mount Merapi's lava dome can be seen from Turi, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, Sunday (26/3/2023). (ANTARA PHOTO/Hendra Nurdiyansyah)

JAKARTA - The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) reports that the current activity of Mount Merapi tends to decline.

Head of PVMBG Hendra Gunawan said that the activity of Mount Merapi was initially high after the hot cloud incident on March 11, 2023, but after that conditions tended to stagnate until now.

"But that doesn't mean the activity has stopped, it has decreased, but the activity of Mount Merapi is still at Level III," he said in a press conference on information on volcanic disasters and ground movements monitored in Jakarta, Friday.

Hendra appealed to the public to always pay attention to recommendations to enter the danger areas of the volcano, which is in the south to southwest sector, covering the Boyong River for a maximum of five kilometers, the Bedog River, Krasak, Bebeng for a maximum of seven kilometers.

Then in the southeast sector, including the Woro River for a maximum of three kilometers and the Gendol River for five kilometers. Meanwhile, the ejection of volcanic material in the event of an explosive eruption can reach a radius of three kilometers from the summit.

Throughout March 24-30, 2023, the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) noted that Mount Merapi only emitted two hot clouds of avalanches to the southwest of the Boyong River with a sliding distance of one kilometer.

Meanwhile, 176 lava avalanches were observed to the southwest of the Bebeng River and Boyong River with a maximum sliding distance of two kilometers.

Meanwhile, the sound of avalanches was heard once from the Babadan Post with a small intensity.

Based on the morphological analysis of the lava dome, BPPTKG noted that the southwest dome experienced morphological changes that occurred due to avalanches and hot clouds falling. However, the middle dome did not change significantly.

On March 13, 2023, photos of air carried out by BPPTKG showed a measured southwest dome volume of 1.68 million cubic meters and a central dome of 2.31 million cubic meters.