Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupts, sends ash nearly a mile high
Indonesia’s most active volcano, Mount Marapi, erupted early Monday, spewing thick gray ash up to 1.6 kilometers (nearly a mile) above its peak, according to state media, Qazinform News Agency learnt from Anadolu Agency.
The eruption, located in West Sumatra province, was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 30 millimeters and a duration of about 33 seconds, the Mount Marapi Volcano Observation Post (PGA) reported.
PGA officer Bilal Allegra Munbaits noted that the ash column was dense, gray in color, and drifting eastward. Authorities have maintained Marapi at Alert Level II, warning of potential cold lava flows, particularly along rivers originating from the volcano’s summit. The risk is heightened during rainfall, and residents have been advised to wear masks to protect against respiratory issues from falling ash.
Standing at 2,891 meters (9,500 feet), Mount Marapi is one of Indonesia’s most closely monitored volcanoes. Entry within a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) radius of the crater remains strictly prohibited.
Indonesia, situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, is home to about 130 active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most volcanically active regions.
Last August, Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka again sent 10-kilometer ash plume into sky.