Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia \u2013 Mbah Maridjan took a different approach\nwhen Mount Merapi began showing signs of an impending eruption. Rather\nthan join the evacuation, the volcano\u2019s traditional guardian chose to\nstay. He even rejected a request from Sultan Hamengkubuwana X to leave\nthe area he had long watched over.<\/p>\n
His decision was rooted in his belief in the task entrusted to him by\nSultan Hamengkubuwana IX, the father of Hamengkubuwana X. He had been\nasked to look after Merapi and, as its guardian, did not want to abandon\nthat duty. The evacuation request was therefore not enough to persuade\nhim to leave.<\/p>\n
For Mbah Maridjan, Merapi also meant more than a volcano that could\nerupt at any time. It was part of the lives of the communities around\nit.<\/p>\n
\u201cMerapi kuwi mbangun,\u201d Mbah Maridjan said, meaning \u201cMerapi builds\u201d,\naccording to the account \u2018The Animal That Laughs at Itself: False Alarms\nabout the End of \u201cMan\u201d\u2019.<\/p>\n
That belief meant he did not want to leave Merapi, even for a moment.\nIt seemed vindicated in 2006, when the volcano again showed increased\nactivity: Mbah Maridjan refused evacuation and stayed on its slopes. He\nsurvived because the wind carried the pyroclastic flow cloud away from\nwhere he was.<\/p>\n
Four years later, the situation was different. On 26 October 2010,\npyroclastic flows swept through Kinahrejo, where Mbah Maridjan lived on\nMerapi\u2019s southern slopes. The guardian died alongside dozens of other\nvictims. He was found dead in a prostrating position, ending his life in\nthe area to which he had devoted himself.<\/p>\n
Merapi\u2019s eruption peaked in early November<\/strong><\/p>\n Indonesia was stunned when Mbah Maridjan was found dead. But the\nvolcano\u2019s activity had not yet reached its peak. Merapi subsequently\nentered a much more explosive phase of eruption.<\/p>\n The eruption triggered pyroclastic flows down the southern slopes.\nRapid magma movement and changes to the lava dome also helped make the\nvolcano\u2019s activity more dangerous.<\/p>\n The peak came on the night of 4\u20135 November 2010. An ash column rose\nabout 17 kilometres into the atmosphere, while pyroclastic flows\ntravelled around 15\u201316 kilometres along the Kali Gendol valley. This was\nfar beyond the reach of the initial phase of the eruption, expanding the\narea at risk.<\/p>\n The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), in its report\n\u2018Indonesian Disaster Data 2010\u2019, said the scale of the eruption led the\ngovernment to extend the danger zone to a radius of 20 kilometres.\nHundreds of thousands of residents had to leave their homes to avoid\npyroclastic flows and volcanic material. The sequence of eruptions was\nrecorded as one of Merapi\u2019s most powerful in more than a century.<\/p>\n The BNPB recorded 341 deaths, 368 people treated in hospital and\n61,154 evacuees. Material losses were estimated at Rp4.23 trillion,\nincluding damage to 3,307 buildings.<\/p>\n After the major 2010 eruption, Mount Merapi experienced another\nmagmatic eruption on 11 August 2018, which continued until September\n2019. Activity continued with a series of explosive eruptions in 2020,\nbefore the volcano entered an effusive phase in January 2021, marked by\nlava-dome growth, lava avalanches and pyroclastic flows.<\/p>\n Although an eruption on the scale of 2010 has not recurred, Merapi\nremains an active volcano that requires vigilance. Its activity\ncontinues to be monitored to anticipate threats to communities living on\nits slopes.<\/p>",
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