Incandescent lava coming from the peak of Gunung Merapi was seen again on Tuesday 5th January at 18:47 local time.
Drops were recorded in the seismic network of Mount Merapi with an amplitude of 3mm for 32 seconds.
“The dropping distance that occurred is still relatively short, so it cannot be known which way it went into the upper reaches of the rivers,”
said the Head of Research and Development Centre for Geological Disaster Technology, Hanik Humaida.
He continued, avalanches generally occur on the southwest side towards the Boyong, Bebeng, Krasak, and Lamat rivers. Hanik explained that, since 31st December 2020 at 9:08pm, locals claimed they saw flares at Merapi’s peak.
This incident was monitored by Tunggularum CCTV and the thermal camera in Panguk.
“Last night’s incandescent lava continued to occur. Magma has appeared on the surface. This is an indicator that magma continues to rise to the surface,” said Hanik.
The status of Gunung Merapi, which is located on the border of the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java, is still at alert level 3.
“Currently, Merapi is entering a new eruption phase, namely the eruption phase in 2021. The main phenomenon is the observation of silent flames and incandescent lava,” said Head of the Mount Merapi Section of the Yogyakarta Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Centre, Agus Budi Santoso.
The Research and Development Centre for Geological Disaster Technology recommends the district governments of Sleman, Magelang, Boyolali, and Klaten in Central Java should prepare everything related to efforts to deal with disasters due to the eruption of Mount Merapi that can occur at any time.