Mount Merapi Erupts in Indonesia, Spewing Ash 1,600 Meters High

Jakarta, 12 Aug (ONA) --- Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia erupted today, spewing an ash column 1,600 meters above its summit.

In a statement, an officer from the Mount Merapi Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PGA) said that the eruption was detected on a seismometer and had a maximum amplitude of 30.4 mm, and that the eruption lasted approximately 34 seconds.

The Indonesian Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center indicated that the alert level for Mount Merapi, located on the border between the Yogyakarta Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Central Java, remains at the second-highest of four levels. There have been no reports of casualties or damage as a result of the eruption so far.

--- Ends/AH