Indonesia's tourism affected by Mount Merapi eruption

As the country’s most active volcano erupts, officials have decided to relocate residents and shut down tourism in the area due to safety concerns.

Mount Merapi, the Indonesian volcano located between Central Java Province and the Special Region of Yogyakarta, has recently began its eruption, with lava flowing up to 5 km in the southwestern direction and ashfall covering nearby villages.

According to the Geological Agency of Indonesia (MAGMA), the ongoing event was classified as a level 3 eruption, on a scale from 1 to 4.

More than 250 people were evacuated by the local authorities and moved at least 7 km away from the Glagaharjo and Umbulharjo villages. Tourism has been temporarily halted in the island of Java, one of the more important destinations in the country. No human lives loss has been reported so far.

Hanik Humaida, head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, declared:

“Dozens of light eruptions continued during the day Thursday with a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing 2.5 kilometres down its slopes. No casualties were reported. About 253 people were evacuated to temporary shelters but they returned to the volcano’s fertile slopes after the activity subsided.”

Mount Merapi started its eruption on Wednesday evening, with hot ash, lava, rocks and gas travelling up to 5 km away from the original crater location. This is considered to be the largest lava threat since the danger level related to the volcano was elevated during last year.

Merapi has a long history of major eruptive episodes. The 2.968-meter high Merapi is the most active of the country’s 120 active volcanoes.

Its last major eruption killed 347 people and relocated 20.000 villagers back in 2010.

 

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com, reliefweb.int