Mount Merapi Launches Hot Clouds And Incandescent Lava To The Southwest

Mount Merapi (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Mount Merapi on the border of the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java launched hot clouds three times and sent incandescent lava eight times to the southwest on Monday, May 3, from 00.00 to 06.00 WIB.

According to the Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) Hanik Humaida, Merapi launched hot clouds of avalanche for 141 seconds at 00.52 WIB.

"The glide distance is 1,500 meters to the southwest", said Hanik regarding the first hot avalanche cloud recorded on the seismogram with an amplitude of 38 mm.

At 03.45 WIB, Mount Merapi launched another hot cloud of avalanche with an amplitude of 36 mm for 144 seconds. The hot clouds of avalanches rolled towards the southwest for a distance of 1.8 kilometers.

Mount Merapi launched a third hot cloud of avalanche for 133 seconds at 04.30 WIB. The hot avalanche clouds with an amplitude of 50 mm were also sliding towards the southwest for 1.8 kilometers.

During the observation period Monday from 00.00 to 06.00 WIB, Mount Merapi was monitored eight times throwing glowing lava avalanches with a maximum sliding distance of 2,000 meters to the southwest.

During the observation period, the volcano also experienced three earthquakes of hot cloud avalanches with an amplitude of 36-50 mm for 133-144 seconds and 34 times an earthquake with an amplitude of 3-19 mm for 13-113 seconds.

In addition, Merapi was observed to experience two earthquake gusts with an amplitude of 4-5 for 17-18 seconds, four times a multi-phase earthquake with an amplitude of three mm for 7-9 seconds, and one shallow volcanic earthquake with an amplitude of 36 mm for 17 seconds.

Until now, the BPPTKG still maintains the status of Mount Merapi activity at Level III or Alert.

The volcanic lava and hot clouds of Mount Merapi are thought to have an impact on the area in the south-southwest sector which includes the Yellow, Boyong, Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng, and Putih Rivers.

When the volcano erupts, the eruption of volcanic material can reach an area within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.