VOLCANO FLOWS FORCE HUNDREDS IN INDONESIA TO FLEE 

Thu 10 March 2022:

Mount Merapi in Indonesia has erupted, blasting a stream of hot clouds into the sky and causing over 250 people to escape their homes as molten lava flowed down its slopes, turning the sky a flaming red.

The volcano, which is one of the world’s most active, erupted several times overnight, releasing gas, volcanic ash, and debris that flowed over five kilometers down its slopes, according to the chairman of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency.

“Due to the avalanches of hot clouds and ash, 253 people took shelter,” Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

Residents have been told to steer clear of an area spanning a seven-kilometre radius surrounding Merapi’s crater over warnings of lava and airborne volcanic material, Muhari added.

The eruption’s hot clouds and smoke blacked out the sky in portions of Indonesia’s highly populated Java Island, near the cultural hub of Yogyakarta.

After showing increasing activity, Mount Merapi is now on its second-highest alert status since November 2020.

Its most recent big eruption, in 2010, killed over 300 people and necessitated the evacuation of over 280,000 people from the surrounding areas.

That was the most violent explosion in the city since 1930, when roughly 1,300 people were killed. In 1994, a volcanic outburst killed roughly 60 individuals.

Nearly 130 active volcanoes may be found in this Southeast Asian archipelago nation.