Indonesia's most active volcano has shown danger signs with a series of small eruptions, and authorities have ordered villagers living on its slopes to leave and hikers to stay clear.
Mount Merapi spews ash following an eruption on May 11, 2018 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AFP
A series of eruptions at Mount Merapi, on the densely populated Java island, in 2010 killed more than 350 people, and authorities are taking no chances after plumes of smoke and ash billowed into the sky late on Monday.
"There can be no public activity within a 3km radius. Hiking is also temporarily prohibited," national disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a text message.
The agency raised the alert level a notch today.
Photo: AFP
Through the ages, Indonesians have tilled the fertile volcanic soil on the mountain's slopes and more recently the volcano has become a tourist site.
The disaster agency described Merapi's eruptions as phreatic, which means magma heats up ground water and vapor is released under pressure.
This month, the airport in Yogyakarta, the closest city to the volcano, was briefly shut down because of the eruptions.
- Reuters