Mount Merapi Launches 10 Times Incandescent Lava And 40 Times Earthquakes Abort, Alert Status

Illustration-The incandescent lava of Mount Merapi seen from Turi, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, Saturday, February 5, 2022 (ANTARA)

YOGYAKARTA - Mount Merapi on the border of the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java emitted 10 times incandescent lava with a maximum sliding distance of 2,000 meters on Wednesday, March 23.

Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG) Hanik Humaida said the incandescent lava avalanche was sliding towards the southwest from 00.00 to 06.00 WIB.

"Merapi also experienced 40 avalanches with an amplitude of 4-39 mm for 32.1-173.7 seconds, and two distant tectonic earthquakes with an amplitude of 3-4 mm for 74.9-113.1 seconds," said Hanik in a written statement in Yogyakarta, Antara, Wednesday. , March 23.

On Wednesday morning, weakly pressured crater smoke was observed to be white with moderate intensity and 25-50 meters high above the crater peak. The results of morphological analysis in the period 11-17 March 2022, showed a decrease in the height of the southwest dome of about 2 meters due to avalanche activity.

While the central lava dome was not observed any significant morphological changes. The volume of the lava dome in the southwest was recorded at 1,546,000 cubic meters and the central dome at 2,582,000 cubic meters.

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

Lava flows and hot clouds from Mount Merapi can impact areas within the south-southwest sector which include the Boyong River (a maximum of five km) and the Bedog, Krasak, Bebeng Rivers (a maximum of seven km).

In addition, lava flows and hot clouds from Mount Merapi can impact areas in the southeastern sector which include the Woro River (a maximum of three km) and the Gendol River (a distance of five km).

If the volcano experiences an explosive eruption, then the ejection of volcanic material can reach an area within a radius of three kilometers from the top of the mountain.