Sudden eruption of Indonesia’s active volcano Mt Merapi forces Java residents to evacuate

 Saturday, May 12, 2018 

The most active volcano of Indonesia, Mt. Merapi has erupted and sending a giant ash column 18,000 ft into the sky. This sudden eruption is forcing thousands of families living in nearby areas to evacuate their homes.

The Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that the massive eruption of Indonesia’s most active volcano was accompanied by a rumbling sound with medium to strong pressure.

The people living within three miles of the crater fled as the volcano spewed out sand and pyroclastic material, with many heading to barracks set up for the displaced.

Mr Nugroho said an airport in the nearby city of Yogyakarta was forced to close for around an hour due to the spread of volcanic ash, and that 120 hikers on Merapi were safe.

The eruption of Mt. Merapi however, did not raise the alert status of the volcano, which is at a normal level with no eruption expected in the foreseeable future.

The 2,968-metre (9,737 ft) mountain between Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces is the most active of 500 Indonesian volcanoes. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and caused the evacuation of 20,000 villagers.

Indonesia is an archipelago where there are 250 million people living. This area is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.

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