news.indahnesia.com - Events - Restless Mount Merapi

Volcano alert status
· Check the most recent alert status of Gunung Merapi

21 November 2006 - For the first time in several months there was some visible activity at the Mount Merapi summit. Yesterday evening between 19:30 and 20:00 local time, the volcano exhausted a cloud of hot ash and stones. This flow reached three kilometers down the southern slope of the volcano, leaving a black tongue-like mark.

Pictures of changes in the landscape
· 12-12-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 2 new images!
· Jump to 2 new pictures

Pictures of the most recent outflow
· 23-11-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 2 new images!
· Jump to 2 new pictures

August 2006 - The alert status of Mount Merapi volcano has been brought down to status one in the recent weeks. The volcano doesn't show any increased activity any more at this moment. A small plume of smoke and ash raises from the volcano at the moment, but that's a normal sight for the ever restless volcano.

Recent developments
· 03-07-2006: Experts consider reducing Indonesian volcano alert
· 17-06-2006: Volcano continues to spew glowing lava
· 16-06-2006: Two trapped in bunker on Merapi volcano found dead
· 15-06-2006: Two trapped after Mount Merapi volcano erupts
· 14-06-2006: Mount Merapi volcano back on highest alert level

13 June 2006 - An Indonesian state agency monitoring Mount Merapi has lowered the volcano's alert status after a decrease in emissions, officials at the vulcanology centre said on Tuesday. Merapi in central Java, near the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta, is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the Pacific "Ring of Fire". It has threatened a major eruption for weeks, forcing evacuation of thousands from its slopes.
· 13-06-2006: Indonesia lowers alert level at Merapi volcano
· 11-06-2006: Smouldering Mount Merapi slows tourism
· 10-06-2006: Merapi activity slows down, but still dangerous

6 June 2006 - The lava dome on Mount Merapi is increasing, raising concerns the volcano will erupt and add to the chaos in central Java after last month's earthquake. Mount Merapi, which is about 60 kilometers from the center of the May 27 earthquake near the city of Yogyakarta, has been emitting more gas, lava and ash in recent days, according to Agus Sampurno, officer at the Volcano Development and Research in Yogyakarta.
· 08-06-2006: Merapi spews lava and gas in large eruption
· 07-06-2006: 11,000 evacuated as Mount Merapi volcano spews ash and lava
· 06-06-2006: Merapi volcano lava dome raises eruption concerns

3 June 2006 - The activities of smoldering Mount Merapi in Central Java province increased remarkably, expelling hot clouds at frequent intervals and sending trails of lava down its slopes, local media reported here on Saturday.
· 04-06-2006: Mount Merapi volcano continuing spewing lava
· 03-06-2006: Mount Merapi becomes more active

24 May 2006 - Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano showed increased activity on Wednesday, spewing more searing heat clouds and lava down its southwestern slopes, officials said. The volcano emitted 11 new clouds of gas and ash and 76 lava trails in the first six hours of Wednesday, the vulcanology office in Yogyakarta, 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, said in a daily report.
· 26-05-2006: Tourist sites around Mount Merapi reopen
· 24-05-2006: Mount Merapi spews more heat clouds and lava
· 23-05-2006: Situation report

20 May 2006 - Activity at Indonesia's Mount Merapi declined Saturday, but the volcano kept spewing out searing hot gas and lava and remained a threat to villagers living on its slopes, a scientist said. The 3,000-meter (9,800-foot) volcano has been rocked by a series of spectacular eruptions since Saturday, regularly shooting out lava and deadly clouds of hot ash and debris
· 22-05-2006: Merapi evacuees begin leaving camps as danger recedes
· 20-05-2006: Spiritual keeper prays to calm volcano
· 20-05-2006: Activity declines at Mount Merapi, but threat remains
· 19-05-2006: Situation report

16 May 2006: Mount Merapi volcano at night.

15 May 2006 - Clouds of deadly ash, rock fragments and hot gas surged down Mount Merapi's slopes Monday as activity intensified to the highest level since the volcano rumbled back to life weeks ago. One eruption sent an avalanche of debris and ash rolling more than 2 miles down the mountain's western flank, said Ratdomopurbo, the region's chief vulcanologist. It was followed by several other huge explosions.
· 17-05-2006: Singapore Red Cross to send relief team to Indonesia
· 17-05-2006: Mount Merapi volcano erupts again
· 17-05-2006: Merapi brings back bad memories of 1994 eruption
· 16-05-2006: backgrounds: A history of eruptions
· 16-05-2006: Yudhoyono to visit volcano to monitor evacuations
· 16-05-2006: Situation report
· 15-05-2006: Volcano eruption countered with dance and food
· 15-05-2006: image: Mount Merapi historic danger zones
· 15-05-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 4 new images!
· Jump to 4 new pictures
· 15-05-2006: Gas clouds shoot down Mount Merapi volcano
· 15-05-2006: Mount Merapi volcano explodes with gas, ash
· 15-05-2006: Situation report

13 May 2006 - Indonesian scientists have raised the alert status for the Mount Merapi volcano to its highest level, prompting mandatory evacuation of residents living near the mountain. Merapi, a 2,968-meter (9,738-foot) volcano near Yogyakarta city on Indonesia's most densely populated island of Java, has spewed pyroclastic flows since 8:30 a.m. local time today.
· 14-05-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 1 new image!
· Jump to 1 new picture
· 14-05-2006: Villagers return to slopes of Merapi despite threat
· 13-05-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 1 new image!
· Jump to 1 new picture
· 13-05-2006: Merapi Volcano alert prompts mandatory evacuations
· 12-05-2006: story: Myths and mysticism that surround Merapi

4 May 2006 - More than 5,000 Indonesians have fled their homes around simmering Mount Merapi, officials said Thursday, as the first lava flow oozed from the volcano. Lava spilled at 2:00 am local time from a new lava dome that has grown on top of Mount Merapi, which has been on stand-by alert for three weeks, said Muzani from Yogyakarta's vulcanology office. "The lava flowed for about 200 metres (yards)," he told AFP.
· 12-05-2006: Volcano chasers move in as locals flee rumbling Merapi
· 11-05-2006: Evacuation as Mt. Merapi volcano spews molten lava
· 11-05-2006: Hundreds return to slopes of Javanese volcano
· 09-05-2006: Situation report
· 08-05-2006: Scientist: Dome shape of Mt Merapi changing quickly
· 08-05-2006: Molten lava continue flows from Mount Merapi
· 06-05-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 5 new images!
· Jump to 5 new pictures
· 05-05-2006: Situation report
· 05-05-2006: Lava spills into valley
· 04-05-2006: Sultan Hamengku Buwono X: 'Merapi in critical condition'
· 04-05-2006: 5,000 evacuated, first lava oozes from Mount Merapi
· 03-05-2006: Residents ask to be evacuated as Merapi rumbles
· 03-05-2006: River of lava ready to hit villages near Merapi
· 02-05-2006: Volcano grows 10 metres in three days

Recent photobook updates
· 01-05-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 8 new images!
· Jump to 8 new pictures
· 29-04-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 5 new images!
· Jump to 5 new pictures
· 27-04-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 2 new images!
· Jump to 2 new pictures

· 27-04-2006: Villagers asked to leave as volcanic debris begins pouring
· 27-04-2006: Expert: Merapi volcano in no rush to erupt
· 27-04-2006: Study warns residents to keep safe distance
· 27-04-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 18 new images!
· Jump to 18 new pictures
· 26-04-2006: Situation report
· 26-04-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 3 new images!
· Jump to 3 new pictures
· 26-04-2006: Schools around rumbling Merapi send children home
· 25-04-2006: story: Lesson from nature
· 25-04-2006: Situation report
· 25-04-2006: Visitors keep their distance from Merapi
· 24-04-2006: Situation report

Background information
· 24-04-2006: Hot clouds pose deadliest threat
· 24-04-2006: Facts about Mount Merapi
· 24-04-2006: Villagers stay on rumbling volcano's slopes
· 23-04-2006: photobook: Gunung Merapi eruption watch 26 new images!
· Jump to 26 new pictures

· 23-04-2006: Gunung Merapi ready to erupt in days
· 22-04-2006: "Red code status just a matter of time"
· 22-04-2006: Tourists, locals marvel at might of Merapi
· 21-04-2006: Sulphur smoke from Merapi rises 500 meters
· 21-04-2006: More than 100 villages evacuated near Merapi volcano
· 21-04-2006: Situation report, including populations at risk

Merapi in pictures

19 April 2006 - Mount Merapi's condition is getting more worrisome eight days after it was declared under an alert status, a volcanology agency official said here on Wednesday. Sunarto, the official from the Volcanological Technology Research and Developemnt (BPPTK), told newsmen "The ready status of Mt Merapi has entered the eighth day and its development is more worrisome."
· 20-04-2006: Java prepares to evacuate as volcano trembles
· 20-04-2006: Situation report
· 19-04-2006: Mt Merapi's condition getting more serious
· 19-04-2006: Situation report

18 April 2006 - People living on the slopes of smoldering Mt. Merapi in Central Java are getting ready to evacuate if the time comes. In Hargobonangun village in Pakem district near Yogyakarta, residents have put 110 vehicles on standby for evacuation purposes if the volcano erupts.
· 18-04-2006: Merapi residents get ready to flee

13 April 2006 - Merapi volcano might erupt in the near future, the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia believes. The number of earthquakes below the volcano and steam emission from the summit crater have drastically increased during the past days. VSI raised the alert level to 3 and villages around the volcano are advised to be ready for possible evacuation should the volcano erupt.
· 12-04-2006 - forum: Mt Merapi's condition getting more serious
· 16-04-2006: Indonesia prepares for possible volcanic eruption
· 13-04-2006: Govt boosts alert level at huge volcano, fearing eruption
· 12-04-2006: Govt bans climbers as Mount Merapi volcano heats up
· 20-03-2006: Villagers living on Gunung Merapi volcano put on alert
· 14-01-2006: 10 volcanoes in Indonesia declared in alert status
· 14-04-2005: Eight other vulcanoes with higher activity

Location of Gunung Merapi, near Yogyakarta (7.542°S / 110.442°E)

Short description of Gunung Merapi
Merapi, one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, dominates the landscape immediately north of the city of Yogyakarta in one of the world's most densely populated areas. Merapi is the youngest and southernmost of a volcanic chain extending NNW to Ungaran volcano. The steep-sided modern Merapi edifice, its upper part unvegetated due to frequent eruptive activity, was constructed to the SW of an arcuate scarp cutting the eroded older Batulawang volcano.

Pyroclastic flows and lahars accompanying growth and collapse of the steep-sided active summit lava dome have devastated cultivated lands on the volcano's western-to-southern flanks and caused many fatalities during historical time. Since 1953, activity has been characterized by extrusion of lava into the summit crater, with periodic lava dome collapse and nuée ardente formation. Summit lava dome growth has continued since the 1969 gas explosion. It is monitored from the Merapi Volcano Observatory (MVO) in Yogyakarta.

GVP, Smithsonian Institution

More backgrounds on Mount Merapi
Mount Merapi is a conical volcano in Central Java, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted 68 times since 1548. Its name means Mountain of Fire. It is very close to the city of Yogyakarta, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1700m above sea level. In light of the hazards it poses to populated areas, it has been designated a Decade Volcano.
· Gunung Merapi