"The first outburst occurred at about 7.15 am."
Bukittinggi (ANTARA News) - Mount Marapi, located between the districts of Tanah Datar and Agam, West Sumatra province twice spewed white smoke on Saturday morning, a witness said.

"The first outburst occurred at about 7.15 am and the second one at about 9.06 am western Indonesia time (WIB)," the witness, who is also a resident of Sungai Puar village, Zul Efrimen, said here on Saturday.

The white smoke was flung 50 to 100 meters above Mount Marapi, which sits 2,891 meters above sea level, he said.

According to Zul, Mount Marapi also showered nearby villages with volcanic ash about one week ago.

Meanwhile, the center of Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation noted that from May 1 to 15, 2012, some 30 volcanic quakes were registered in the area.

On August 3, 2011, Mount Marapi spewed sulfurous volcanic ash, reaching an altitude of 1,000 meters, and spread to a number of areas in West Sumatra, such as the districts of Agam, Tanahdatar, Padangpariaman and Padangpanjang.

Mount Marapi last erupted in 2005.
(Uu.B003/INE/KR-BSR)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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