Mount Merapi Launches 13 Times Lava Falls Leads To Bebeng River As Of 06.00 WIB

Photo archives - Mount Merapi's incandescent lava avalanche can be seen from Turi, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, Monday (5/8/2024) night / DOK ANTARA

YOGYAARTA - Mount Merapi on the border of Central Java (Central Java) and the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) launched 13 lava avalanches with a maximum sliding distance of 1.6 kilometers today. Head of the Yogyakarta Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) Agus Budi Santoso explained, based on observations from 00:00 to 06:00 WIB, the lava avalanche slid towards the Bebeng River. "13 lava avalanches were observed towards the Bebeng River (southwest) with a maximum sliding distance of 1,600 meters," Agus said in a statement in Yogyakarta, Antara, Sunday, August 18. During this observation period, Mount Merapi also experienced 49 avalanches with an amplitude of 4-31 mm for 0.12-167.72 seconds and two distant tectonic earthquakes with an amplitude of 6-18 mm for 182.84 - 224.08 seconds. The BPPTKG report for the period 9-15 August 2024, the morphology of the southwest dome of Mount Merapi was observed to be a change due to the growth activity of the dome, while the morphology of the middle dome is relatively the same. Based on the analysis of aerial photos, the volume of the southwest dome is measured at 2,671,500 cubic meters and the central dome is 2,366,900 cubic meters. Agus stated that until now BPPTKG still maintains the status of Mount Merapi at Level III or Alert. To anticipate the potential danger of the eruption of Mount Merapi, BPPTKG appealed to the public not to carry out any activities in areas of potential danger. The lava fall and hot clouds from Mount Merapi can have an impact on areas in the south-southwest sector which include the Boyong River (a maximum of five kilometers) and the Bedog, Krasak, and Bebeng rivers (a maximum of seven kilometers).

In the southeast sector, including the Woro River is a maximum of three kilometers and the Gendol River is 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. If there is an explosive eruption, he said, then the ejection of volcanic material from Mount Merapi can reach an area within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.