A volcano erupted in western Indonesia this Sundaylaunching a column of ashes three kilometers high, an official source announced. The eruption of Mount Marapi, located on the island of Sumatra, began at 2:54 p.m. local time (07:54 GMT) and at the moment caused no victims or damage.
Ash from the volcano, which is still erupting, has been observed up to 3,000 m above its summit, said Hendra Gunawan, head of the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazards.
“We can see this very intense, dark gray ash column leaning towards the east,” he said in a statement. “Neither people who live around the volcano nor tourists can enter a three-kilometer radius around the crater,” he added.
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At least 70 people entered that area on Saturday and Sunday morning, according to records, and 42 of them had not yet been located at the end of the day. “Our teams are evacuating everyone.
We found and evacuated 28 people and we continue searching for the others (…)”, declared the head of the natural resources protection agency of West Sumatra, Dian Indriati.
Some hikers, however, do not report their entry or exit from the area, so The exact number of people who remain there is unknown. Mount Marapi, 2,891 meters high and whose name means “mountain of fire” is the most active volcano in Sumatra.
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The volcano is currently at the third alert level on a scale of four, the authorities indicated. “The ash rain has already reached the city of Bukittinggi,” the third largest city in Sumatra, with a population of more than 100,000, said Ahmad Rifandi, head of the Marapi monitoring station.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area where continental plates meet, generating significant volcanic and seismic activity. The country has almost 130 active volcanoes. In May, the country’s most active volcano, Merapi, on the island of Java, expelled lava more than two kilometers from its crater
The volcano erupts #Marapi located on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia🇮🇩
The explosion generated an eruptive column about 10 km above the crater. Abundant ash fall is reported in locations near the volcano. pic.twitter.com/IzrKEWBQIb
— SkyAlert (@SkyAlertMx) December 3, 2023
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#Volcano #erupted #western #Indonesia #images