On the same day, several loud booms were also heard until eight kilometer radius from the Mount Merapi peak."
Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - The Geology Disaster Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTKG) of Yogyakarta on Wednesday raised the status of Mount Merapi from normal (alert level I) to Waspada (alert level II) due to increasing volcanic activity.

Head of Yogyakarta BPPTKG Subandriyo stated here on Wednesday that the volcano, located at the border between Central Java and Sleman, Yogyakarta, recorded 20 low frequency tremors on Tuesday (April 29), which was predicted as an indication of the increasing volcanic gas flow that had potential to erupt.

"On the same day, several loud booms were also heard until eight kilometer radius from the Mount Merapi peak," Subandriyo pointed out.

In period between April 20 and 29, there were 37 avalanches, 13 multiphase tremors, four blast or phreatic explosions, 24 tectonic tremors, and 29 low frequency tremors at the volcano.

Due to the increased status of the mount, therefore, no hiking or climbing will be allowed, except for research or disaster mitigation work.

"We have also asked the residents around Mount Merapi slope not to be provoked by rumors about the volcanos eruption but to follow instruction from the local authority only," he stressed.

There has been no evacuation order from the authority in the current volcanos status.

"We have asked the local authority to announce the condition of Mount Merapi so that residents get the correct information," he reiterated.

The BPPTKG of Yogyakarta will intensify the observation on Mount Merapi following its increasing volcanic activity.

The latest major explosion of the most active volcano in Indonesia occured in 2010.

The eruption began in late October 2010 and a series of eruptions thereafter, continued up to November.

Over 350 thousand people were evacuated from the affected areas and at least 353 were killed during the eruptions.

(Reporting by Victorianus Sat Pranyoto/Uu.INE/KR-BSR/O001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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