Mount Merapi erupts in Indonesia, spewing ash

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) — Indonesia's most active volcano has erupted four times, with the Southeast Asian country's volcano monitoring service reporting an increase in volcanic tremors.

Columns of ash were seen rising from Mount Merapi, located in the province of West Sumatra, with the four eruptions recorded from Sunday morning to the afternoon, the Antara News Agency reported, citing the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG).

The first eruption occurred at 7 a.m. (0000GMT) with an column of soot reaching roughly 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above the peak of the mountain, drifting West.

The second eruption occurred at 07.36 a.m., with another occurring at 09.56 a.m. and the last at 04.01 p.m.

There have been no reports of casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Mount Merapi, towers 2,891 meters tall and is located on the island of Sumatra, where authorities have long prohibited residents and tourists from hiking within a three-kilometer (1.86-mile) radius of its crater. It is one of the approximately 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, located on the Ring of Fire — a zone of high seismic and volcanic activity in the Pacific Ocean.