Mount Merapi in Indonesia, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted on Tuesday, spewing molten lava and ash two kilometers around, local authorities reported.
An impressive flow of incandescent lava also escapes from its crater, according to photos shared by the Merapi Volcano Observatory, a public body.
“The activity of Merapi has intensified somewhat in recent days […]but the Merapi is accustomed to these resurgences of activity”, explained Agus Budi Santoso, the head of another government agency responsible for monitoring the volcano (BPPTKG).
“Coincidentally, the weather was clear and therefore the population could see the flows” of lava, added Mr. Santoso.
The Merapi, located 28 km north of the provincial capital Jogjakarta, is under close surveillance.
Volcanic material, including lava, was expelled from the volcano up to two kilometers on Tuesday, inside the seven-kilometre security perimeter established by authorities around the volcano in 2022.
The Merapi, which already erupted in mid-March, is placed on the second highest alert level since 2020, due to increased volcanic activity.
The last major eruption of this volcano killed more than 300 people in 2010 and caused the evacuation of 280,000 people.
It was its most violent episode since the eruption of 1930 which claimed around 1,300 victims. In 1994, another eruption killed around 60 people.
There are nearly 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and islets located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.