Merapi activity intensifies

YOGYAKARTA: The Mount Merapi volcano continued to intensify its activity on Thursday, causing the Yogyakarta Volcanology and Development Research Station (BPPTK) to upgrade the volcano to high alert status.

BPPTK head Syamsul Rizal said that after calming down for about three hours on Wednesday, the 2,968-meter-high volcano discharged hot clouds every two minutes for a period of one hour around noon on Thursday.

According to Rizal, such frequent discharges of gas clouds, together with the continuous lava emissions, could signal the imminent collapse of the newly formed lava dome, or Kubah 2001 as it has been named.

"This is what we are worried about at this moment. If this happens, the people living on the mountain's slopes will be in danger," Rizal added.

The BPPTK also reported that early on Thursday morning between midnight and 6 a.m., Merapi discharged hot clouds 53 times. Most of the clouds ran along the Kali Sat and Kali Senowo and had a discharge distance of up to four kilometers.

He said the volcano's status could be raised to red alert, with evacuation being conducted immediately after, only when the lava and the hot gas discharged reached a distance of about seven kilometers from the peak.

Rizal also said that a thin covering of dust was blanketing the Deles area (Klaten, Central Java), which is located to the east of the volcano. (swa)