Indonesia’s most active volcano of Mount Merapi shoots a towering plume of ash on June 1. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s most active volcano of Mount Merapi shot a towering plume of ash about 6 kilometres high on June 1, triggering a top alert notice for passenger planes, the government official said.
The volcano erupted at 8:20am (local time), spreading volcanic ash to the west of the crater.
The Indonesian authority has issued red alert of Vona (Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation), the highest level which forbids planes from passing through the volcano area.
Residents in the vulnerable zone near the volcano have been warned to stay vigilant and a three-kilometre no-go zone around the crater remains in force.
Mount Merapi is situated on the border of Yogyakarta and Central Java on Java island. The volcano has regularly erupted since 1948. In November 1994, its eruption killed 27 people while the last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.
On May 24, the mount burst six kilometre volcanic ash to the sky, releasing poisonous gas, including H2S and CO2 into the air.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 250 million people, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Indonesian government seismologists monitor more than 120 active volcanoes.-VNA
VNA
