One of Indonesia’s most active volcanos erupts, covers villages in ash

Indonesia’s Merapi volcano erupted spewing hot cloud up to seven kilometres, Reuters reported quoting the country’s disaster management agency.

Merapi volcano is located in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta special region. The local authorities said as per Reuters that the volcano erupted around 12 pm local time (0500 GMT) and a lava flow of 1.5 km was observed.

Following the eruption, a warning was issued to the residents nearby to stop any activities in the danger zones. The zone has been marked in the range between three to seven kilometres radius from the crater, the authorities said in a statement.

Merapi is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanos and is 2,963 metre-high (9,721 feet). The volcano was already on the country’s second-highest alert level. In videos shared widely on social media, the volcano can be seen erupting.

However no residents have been evacuated yet, an official told Reuters.

“This has only been observed as one time event, there have been 5-6 avalanches. If the coverage continue to increase and the distance is further than 7 kilometres, it is likely that the residents will be recommended to evacuate,” the official said.

Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country in the world as it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Merapi volcano last violently erupted in 2010, killing more than 350 people.