The Mount Merapi volcano on densely populated Java island is one of the most active in Indonesia and a series of eruptions in 2010 killed more than 350 people.
A disaster mitigation agency told residents living within a 5 km (3 mile) radius of the mountain to move to shelters, agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.
He said that 120 people who had been hiking up Merapi were safe.
The airport in Yogyakarta, the nearest big city to the volcano, shut because of the threat from the ash, the state-owned aviation agency AirNav said in a statement.
The disaster agency described Merapi’s latest eruption as phreatic, which means magma heats up ground water and vapor is released under pressure.
The alert status on Merapi had not be raised, it said.
A view of Mount Merapi following an eruption as seen from Donoharjo village, near Yogyakarta, on the island of Java, Indonesia May 11, 2018. REUTERS/Dwi Oblo
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ordered the Election Commission to immediately proceed with the postponed Local Government Elections.
Ratnapura District Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Thalatha Athukorala has informed Parliament that she decides to resign from her position as Member of Parliament.
United Petroleum (UP) was launched in Sri Lanka today and will commence retail fuel operations in September with 150 dealer owned and operated fuel stations.
The ‘Easter Attack April 2019 – Victim Fund has received a total sum of Rs.231. 8 million as of August 21, 2024 , of which Rs.100 million was paid as compensation by former President Maithripala Sirisena as directed by the Supreme Court, the Office for Reparations said.
Leave Comments