Mount Merapi Releases Hot Clouds With A Distance Of 1,000 Meters

Mount Merapi (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Mount Merapi on the border of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta on Tuesday, January 26, in the morning released a hot cloud of avalanches once with a maximum gliding distance of 1,000 meters to the upper reaches of Kali Krasak and Boyong.

Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), Hanik Humaida, said the hot cloud avalanche that occurred at 05.01 WIB had a column height of 400 meters and was recorded on a seismograph with an amplitude of 25 mm with a duration of 104.08 seconds.

"One time a hot cloud collapsed with a sliding distance of 1,000 meters (to the upper reaches of Kali Krasak and Boyong) with a column height of 400 meters above the peak," he said through his official statement in Yogyakarta, reported by Antara.

In addition to hot clouds of avalanche, during the observation period from 00.00 to 06.00 WIB, the BPPTKG recorded 26 incandescent lava avalanches with a maximum sliding distance of 1,000 meters leading upstream of Kali Krasak and Boyong.

The BPPTKG also recorded one avalanche hot cloud earthquake with an amplitude of 25 mm and a duration of 104.1 seconds, 65 avalanche earthquakes with an amplitude of 4-25 mm and a duration of 15.2-127 seconds, one hybrid / multi-phase earthquake with an amplitude of 3 mm, and a duration of 6.3 seconds, and one earthquake gusts with an amplitude of 3 mm, and a duration of 12.7 seconds.

Previously, on Monday, January 25 evening, the BPPTKG also recorded three hot clouds escaping from Mount Merapi with a maximum sliding distance of 600-1,000 meters and 14 times of flaring lava to the southwest or the upper reaches of Kali Krasak and Boyong with a sliding distance of 300-700. meter.

Based on observations for a week from 15 to 21 January 2021, BPPTKG concluded that Mount Merapi's volcanic activity is still quite high in the form of effusive eruptive activity.

The status of Mount Merapi is still maintained at Level III or Alert with potential hazards in the form of lava avalanches and hot clouds in the south-southwest sector including the Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih rivers with a maximum distance of 5 kilometers.

In the event of an explosive eruption, the eruption of volcanic material can reach a radius of 3 km from the summit, said Hanik Humaida.