Indonesia's Merapi volcano unleashes river of lava
In this Tuesday, Jan, 29, 2019, photo. Mount Merapi spews volcanic material as it erupts as seen from Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's most volatile volcano unleashed a 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) dark red volcanic material 1,400 meters (1,500 yards) down the slopes. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
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In this Tuesday, Jan, 29, 2019, photo. Mount Merapi spews volcanic material as it erupts as seen from Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's most volatile volcano unleashed a 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) dark red volcanic material 1,400 meters (1,500 yards) down the slopes. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
Indonesia's volatile Mount Merapi volcano has unleashed a river of lava that flowed 1,400 meters (4,590 feet) down its slopes.
Merapi, on the island of Java, has entered an "effusive eruption phase," Kasbani, head of the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, said Wednesday.
Kasbani, who goes by a single name, said the volcanic material that spewed out late Tuesday was the volcano's longest lava flow since it began erupting again in August.
He said the alert level of the volcano has not been raised but people should stay out of a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) danger zone around the crater.
The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain, located near the ancient Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes.
Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 260 million people, is prone to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions because it straddles the Pacific "Ring of Fire."
In this Tuesday, Jan, 29, 2019, photo. Mount Merapi spews volcanic material as it erupts as seen from Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's most volatile volcano has unleashed a 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) dark red volcanic material 1,400 meters (1,500 yards) down the slopes. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)
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In this Tuesday, Jan, 29, 2019, photo. Mount Merapi spews volcanic material as it erupts as seen from Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's most volatile volcano has unleashed a 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) dark red volcanic material 1,400 meters (1,500 yards) down the slopes. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)