Indonesia: Mount Marapi erupts 45 times

Antara 7 Jun 17;

Bukittinggi, W Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Mount Marapi, which is located between Agam District and Tanah Datar District of West Sumatera Province, has erupted 45 times since Sunday (June 4), with volcanic dust reaching various heights.

According to the officer of Volcanic Monitor Post in Marapi, Hartanto, here on Tuesday, the latest eruptions occurred five times on Tuesday from 00.01 am to 06.00 am.

The officer noted that the mount erupted six times last Sunday and 34 times on Monday.

"The Marapi erupted and spurted volcanic dust as well as caused volcanic earthquake. The status is at level II," Hartanto remarked.

Hartanto stated that the eruption was still in medium alert.

He added that Marapi had been under alert since Aug 2011, and it showed a lot of shallow volcanic activity for the past two months.

"We ask people to refrain from any activity at a radius of 3 kilometers till the peak. We warn the climbers too," Hartanto revealed.

The officer noted that there were no residents who lived within the radius of 3 kilometers to the peak.

Additionally, the Head of West Sumatra Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency Nasridal Patria remarked that at least four districts and cities have prepared to handle the eruption.

The districts that are prone to eruption impact include Tanah Datar, Agam, Bukittinggi City, and Padang Panjang.(*)


Mount Marapi of West Sumatra erupts
Antara 5 Jun 17;

Documentation. Mount Marapi in West Sumatra (ANTARA PHOTO/ Arif Pribadi))
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted on Sunday spewing clouds of volcanic ash over the region of Tanah Datar of the Sumatran province.

Head of Data and Information Center of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement received here on Sunday that the agency has set an exclusive zone within a radius of three kilometers from the Mount Marapis peak following the eruption.

The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) reported that Mount Marapi (2,891 masl) erupted twice on Sunday at 10:01 a.m. and 10:22 a.m local time.

The first eruption sent a 300 meter high plume of smoke from the peak while the second one spewed ash much higher at around 700 meter high from the mounts peak.

"We urged people to remain calm and avoid misleading issues. The PVMBG will deliver early warning in the future will the mounts activity increase to pose danger," Nugroho said.

There have been no refuge camps set up yet since the residential areas are located outside the three kilometer radius of the exclusion zone.

Mount Marapi has been put on alert level II since August 3 2011. After the eruption occurred, there has been no increase of volcanic activities detected.

Meanwhile, District Head of Tanah Datar Irdiansyah Tarmizi said that the volcanic ash of Mount Marapi has blanketed four subdistricts namely Batipuh, Pariangan, Sungai Tarab and Salimpaung.

However, the daily activity of local people is not affected much by the thin layer of volcanic ash blanketing their homes.(*)