Indonesia's most volatile volcano erupts

Indonesia's most volatile volcano erupts

Indonesia's most volatile volcano - Mount Merapi spat ash and hot gas in 1 column of smoke reaching 6 km the sky as it erupted on Monday Aug 9, 2021.

Ash clouds blanketed several villages on the main island of Java.

Mount Merapi is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The 2.968-meter (9,737-foot) high stratovolcano has seen increased volcanic activity in recent weeks, releasing plumes of ash high into the air and with a dome of solidified lava growing rapidly on its summit.

Sunday morning the lava dome partially collapsed, sending at least seven pyroclastic flows, a mixture of hot debris, lava and gases, 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) down its slopes.

Ash from the eruption blanketed several villages and nearby towns, but no casualties were reported.

Mount Merapi is one of the sixteen "Decade Volcanoes", volcanoes that can produce large, potentially destructive eruptions in densely populated regions.

Merapi's last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and displaced 10,000, one of deadliest volcanic eruption in recent years.