Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupts, spews hot cloud

JAKARTA — Indonesia's Merapi volcano erupted on Saturday (March 11), spewing hot cloud up to seven kilometres, the country's disaster management agency said in a statement.

The volcano located in Indonesia's Yogyakarta special region erupted around 12pm local time (1pm Singapore time) and a lava flow of 1.5 km was observed, the local authority said.

Residents in the nearby community have been warned to stop any activities in the danger zones, range between three to seven kilometres radius from the crater, the statement said.

The 2,963 metre-high Merapi is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes and was already on the country's second-highest alert level.

Official at local monitoring post, Yulianto said no residents have been evacuated.

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"This has only been observed as one time event, there have been five to six avalanches.

"If the coverage continue to increase and the distance is further than seven kilometres, it is likely that the residents will be recommended to evacuate," he said.

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country. Merapi last violently erupted in 2010, killing more than 350 people.