One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes erupted at least three times on Sunday, spewing thick columns of ash and showering villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.
Marapi volcano, located in Agam district of West Sumatra province, is known for its sudden eruptions, which are difficult to predict because they are not caused by the underlying magma movement that triggers tremors recorded by seismic monitors.
According to Ahmad Rifandi, an official at the Indonesian Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazards Mitigation at the Marapi monitoring post, clouds of hot ash spread for miles, covering nearby villages and towns in thick volcanic debris. Pillars of ash reached heights of 2,000 metres (6,560 feet).
Rifandi said the nearly 2,900-metre (9,480-foot) volcano has been on the second of four alert levels since January, prohibiting climbers and villagers from staying within 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) of the crater mouth because of a possible lava eruption.
Marapi erupted in December 2023, killing 24 climbers and injuring several others who were caught in a sudden eruption over the weekend. Two climbing routes on the mountain have since been closed.
Indonesia is in a seismically dangerous zone, the Pacific Volcanic Ring of Fire, home to about 130 active volcanoes.
