Indonesia’s Marapi volcano erupts, spewing ash and hot clouds

One of Indonesia’s astir progressive volcanoes has erupted, spewing heavy columns of ash astatine slightest 3 times and blanketing villages pinch debris, but nary casualties were reported

PADANG, Indonesia -- One of Indonesia’s astir progressive volcanoes erupted Sunday, spewing heavy columns of ash astatine slightest 3 times and blanketing villages pinch debris, but nary casualties were reported.

Mount Marapi, successful Agam territory of nan state of West Sumatra, is known for abrupt eruptions that are difficult to foretell because they are not caused by a heavy activity of magma, which sets disconnected tremors that registry connected seismic monitors.

It unleashed basking ash clouds that dispersed for respective miles, covering adjacent villages and towns pinch heavy volcanic residue, said Ahmad Rifandi, an charismatic pinch Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center astatine nan Marapi monitoring post. It besides changeable ash columns arsenic precocious arsenic 2,000 meters (6,560 feet).

Rifandi said nan astir 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) volcano has stayed astatine nan 2nd highest of 4 alert levels since January, prohibiting climbers and villagers wrong 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from nan crater’s rima because of imaginable lava.

Marapi erupted successful December 2023, sidesplitting 24 climbers and injuring respective others who were caught by its abrupt play eruption. Two climbing routes successful nan upland person been closed since then.

Sunday’s eruption came 5 months aft monsoon rains triggered a landslide of mud and acold lava from Mount Marapi, causing rivers to breach their banks. The deluge tore done mountainside villages and swept distant group and dozens of homes, killing 67 people.

“Villagers are still haunted by nan flash floods of acold lava arsenic rainy play is coming,” Rifandi said, “But they person learned an important instruction connected really to debar nan threat of eruption.”

Indonesia, an archipelago of 282 cardinal people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits on nan “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped bid of seismic responsibility lines astir nan Pacific Ocean.