Two Volcanoes' Status in Java Increased

Jakarta (Antara) - The status of the two most active volcanoes in Java Island, Mount Slamet and Merapi, were raised by the authority on Wednesday following increasing volcanic activities. The Geology Disaster Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTKG) of Yogyakarta raised the status of Mount Merapi from normal (alert level I) to waspada (alert level II), while Mount Slamet's was raised from alert level II (Waspada) to alert level III (Siaga). Chief of Yogyakarta BPPTKG Subandriyo said here on Wednesday the volcano, located at the border between Central Java and Sleman, Yogyakarta, recorded 20 low-frequency tremors on April 29, which was predicted as an indication of the increasing volcanic gas flow that had the potential to cause an eruption. "On the same day, several loud booms were also heard within an eight kilometer radius from the Mount Merapi peak," Subandriyo said. Between April 20 and April 29, 2014, there were 37 avalanches, 13 multiphase tremors, four blasts or phreatic explosions, 24 tectonic tremors and 29 low-frequency tremors at the volcano. The increased status of the mountain, therefore, meant that no hiking or climbing will be allowed, except for research or for disaster mitigation efforts. "We also asked residents living near the Mount Merapi slope not to be provoked by rumors about the volcano's eruption but to follow instruction from the local authority," he added. (*)