YOGYAKARTA There is an interesting phenomenon that has occurred in the midst of the recent activity of Mount Merapi, which is in the form of a silent fire in the lava dome. Related to this, the Center for Research and Development of Geological Disaster Technology (BPPTKG) then explained the meaning of the silent fire in the lava dome of Merapi.
As is known, the BPPTKG reported the appearance of a silent fire from observations for the period March 13, 2023, at 18.00 - 24.00 WIB. The fire was red and was seen in the southwest lava dome of the active volcano.
According to BPPTKG, the existence of the silent fire is a natural phenomenon that occurs in active volcanoes. The cause is hot lava.
"The silent fire is the appearance of a red rona, usually due to hot lava," explained Head of BPPTKG Agus Budi Santoso, Tuesday, March 14.
BPPTKG also reported that during the observation there were no recorded hot clouds of avalanches or incandescent lava coming out of the volcano in two administrative provinces, namely Central Java and Yogyakarta DI.
As is known, BPPTKG is still setting Alert status or Level III on Mount Merapi. This status was determined as of November 2020. Related to this, the community was asked to stop activities in areas that have the potential to be affected by volcanic disasters, including activities in rivers upstream of Mount Merapi.
As is known, Indonesia applies four volcanic statuses based on the level of its volcano activity, which is as follows.
Normal status is the lowest status applied to the volcano. This status means that the volcano does not experience visual, seismic, and volcanic activity. Simply put, this status indicates that the volcano is safe so there is no need for disaster mitigation.
The alert status of the volcano is level II status which indicates an increase in volcanic activity. This means that mountains with this status have the potential to erupt. This can be seen from the signs of visual changes in the crater of the mountain. Some of the characteristics that can be seen include seismic activity, volcanic events, and rising mountain activity that is no longer in the normal category.
Alert status or level III indicates that the volcano is starting to show dangerous activity. The mountain will experience an increase in seismic activity intensively. At this level the mountain is expected to erupt, it can be seen from the visual characteristics or activity in the crater so that it can continue to the eruption.
When the mountain is at this level, people are asked to be aware of the impact that volcanic eruptions can have. At this level the mountain will also be closed, people are prohibited from carrying out activities on mountains such as climbing, agriculture, or mining activities.
The status of alert is the last status embedded in the condition of the mountain. If the mountain gets this status then the gunship of the volcano immediately or is currently erupting. Or it could also be that the mountain is in a critical condition that could lead to natural disasters.
The alert mountain will begin to show several signs of erupting, starting from the release of ash and steam. There is a possibility that an eruption could occur in the near future. In this kind of situation, people at the foot of the mountain or in disaster-prone areas will be evacuated.
That's information regarding the meaning of a silent fire in the lava dome of Merapi. Visit VOI.ID for other interesting news.
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