YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Indonesia’s most active volcano erupted on Wednesday with a river of lava and clouds of scorching gas flowing 3,000 meters (almost 10,000 feet) down its slopes. No victims were reported.
The sounds of the eruption can be heard from 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, officials said. It was the largest lava flow on Mount Merapi since authorities increased its level of danger in November, said Hanik Humaida, head of Yogyakarta’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazards Mitigation.
She said the volcano’s lava dome is growing rapidly, causing hot lava and clouds of gas to flow down its slopes.
After the morning rain, the ashfall turned to mud in several villages. More than 150 people, mostly elderly, who live less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the crater, have been evacuated to tents prepared for the displaced.
In November, authorities evacuated nearly 2,000 people who lived on the mountain in the districts of Magelang and Sleman, but most have now returned.
The alert is being maintained at the second highest level and authorities have told people to stay out of an existing danger zone around the crater.
The 2,968 meter (9,737 ft) volcano is on the densely populated island of Java, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. It is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes and has recently erupted repeatedly with lava and clouds of gas.
Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activities because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic faults around the ocean.