Head of BPPTKG Hanik Humaida noted in his official statement in Yogyakarta that CCTV monitoring of the lava avalanches was conducted between 00.00 and 6.00 local time.
In addition to producing lava avalanches, five volcanic tremors, with five-millimeter (mm) amplitudes lasted for 3-25 seconds, and three low-frequency earthquakes of 4-9 mm amplitude were felt for 15.4-18.8 seconds.
No crater smoke was witnessed during the observation period, and weak winds blew over the mountain to the west along with air temperatures recorded in the range of 13.8 to 18.5 degrees Celsius; air humidity, 59-76 percent; and air pressure, 629.4-709.8 mmHg.
The BPPTKG has, until now, maintained the status of Mount Merapi at Level II, or Alert, and has, in the interim, banned climbing activities apart for disaster mitigation-related investigation and research.
The BPPTKG has appealed to residents to not conduct activities within a three-kilometer radius of the summit of Mount Merapi and urged residents in the vicinity of the Gendol River area to step up vigil over the extent to which the hot clouds from Merapi will dissipate.
Moreover, the community has been urged to not become incited by issues related to Mount Merapi's eruption, whose sources remain unclear, and to continue to follow the directions of the local government officials or directly obtain information or updates from the Mount Merapi Observation Post, BPPTKG office, or through the BPPTKG's social media account.
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Bambang Purwanto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
