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Indonesia's geological agency said the eruption lasted about seven minutes, prompting local authorities to order residents outside the 3-kilometer zone around the shaking crater near Indonesia's cultural capital, Yogyakarta, to refrain from walking. The agency did not raise the alert level after the eruption, but advised commercial aircraft to exercise caution when flying in the area.
Local media reported that residents in nearby areas including Sleman and Klaten heard loud noises on the morning of June 21.
Located on the main island of Java, Mount Merapi, approximately 2,930 meters high, is one of 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has been regularly active since 1548. Since September last year, it has erupted 14 times. Its most recent eruption was in April, leading to an orange aviation alert (the second highest level).
The most recent major eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010 claimed the lives of over 300 people and forced the evacuation of approximately 350,000 residents from surrounding areas. It was also the strongest eruption of the volcano since 1930, which killed around 1,300 people. Another eruption of Merapi in 1994 claimed approximately 60 lives.
Merapi is an active volcano, still emitting smoke daily, and erupts on average once every four years.
Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands of varying sizes and nearly 130 active volcanoes. This Southeast Asian archipelago nation lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a vast geologically unstable region where the collision of tectonic plates causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
