Indonesia’s most active volcano erupts again, flight warning issued

Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, erupted again on Friday, spewing a column of ashes by up to 3,000 meters high, the Indonesian Volcanology Agency said.

The 2,930-meter volcano situated in Indonesia’s main Java Island has spewed ashes for 13 times since September, indicating that the intrusion of new magma has been occurring, the agency said.

Residents living around the slopes are asked to take precautionary measures for possible rains of ashes, it said in a statement.

A no-go zone has been declared at a 3-km radius from the crater, it said.

The agency issued a volcano observatory notice for aviation (VONA) with the level of the second highest, orange code, meaning that the eruption endangers aviation, and planes are required to avoid airspace around the hot clouds.

The volcano erupted on April 2 with a column of ashes spread by up to 3 km to the sky.

Mount Merapi, one of Indonesia’s 129 active volcanoes, has regularly erupted since 1548.

During its eruptions from October to November 2010, a total of 353 people were killed and about 350,000 others were displaced.