Indonesia’s most active volcano has erupted, sending 3,000 meters (9,850 feet) of lava and a cloud of gas clouds down its op volcano.
The blast could be heard 18 miles (30 km) away, officials said. No casualties were reported.
Mount Merapi had the largest lava flow since authorities raised its threat level in November, said Hanik Humaida, head of the volcanic and geological hazard mitigation center in the nearby town of Yogyakarta.
She said the volcanic lava dome is growing rapidly, causing hot lava and gas clouds to flow down its slope.
After the morning rains, ash fall in many villages turned into mold. More than 150 people, mostly elderly people, living within 3 miles of the crater were evacuated to barracks set up for the displaced.
In November, authorities evacuated about 2,000 people living on the mountain in the Mejlang and Sleman districts, but most have returned.
The warning is being maintained at the second highest level, and officials told people to stay out of the danger zone around the crater.
The 2,968-meter volcano on the densely populated island of Java is the most active of the dozens of Indonesian volcanoes and has erupted late and frequently. The last major explosion in Merapi in 2010 killed 347 people.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 200 million people, suffers from earthquakes and volcanic activity as it sits next to the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific, a series of horse-shaped series of fault lines.
