Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano erupts multiple times in waves, forcing 250 residents to flee

Mount Merapi volcano erupted at least seven times and spouted hot ash just before and after midnight

Lava flows down from the crater of Indonesia's most active volcano Mount Merapi, seen from the village of Plunyon in Sleman (AFP via Getty Images)

About 250 locals in Indonesia’s Java island were forced to flee after Mount Merapi volcano erupted overnight on Thursday, spouting avalanches of hot clouds several times, and left a thick ash blanket in the troposphere.

Mount Merapi volcano erupted at least seven times and spouted hot ash just before and after midnight, the national disaster mitigation agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

The eruption sent fast-moving pyroclastic flows — a combination of rock, lava and gas —up to 5km (3.1 miles) down its slopes, Mr Muhari said.

Rumbles from the explosion were also heard several kilometres away.

No immediate casualties or injuries were reported.

At least 253 individuals were evacuated from near the volcanic region in Merapi to temporary shelters in Glagaharjo and Umbulharjo villages in Yogyakarta special province and in Central Java’s Klaten district.

Several nearby villages and towns were covered in ash from the eruption, the disaster mitigation agency’s official said.

Locals living on the fertile slopes of Merapi island were asked to stay at least 7km (4.3 miles) away from the crater’s mouth by officials.

Residents should be aware of the danger posed by lava, officials from Indonesia’s geology and volcanology research agency said.

One of the most active among more than 120 volcanoes in Indonesia, Merapi has been repeatedly erupting with lava and gas clouds in the last few months.

Since its eruption last November, the active volcano has been placed on the second-highest of four levels. However, the alert status for Thursday’s eruption was not raised by the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre in the island nation.

In its last major eruption in 2010, 347 people were killed and at least 20,000 villagers were forced evacuated from Merapi.

Mount Merapi volcanic eruption from Thursday night comes barely three months after Mount Semeru erupted in December. The eruption of Indonesia’s highest volcano killed 48 and left 26 missing in villages buried under layers of mud.

More than 5,000 houses and buildings were damaged in the eruption and many suffered serious burns.