<p>Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Saturday with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining activities on the slopes of the country's most active volcano.</p>.<p>Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) down its slopes.</p>.<p>A column of hot clouds rose 100 meters (yards) into the air, said the National Disaster Management Agency's spokesperson Abdul Muhari.</p>.<p>The eruption throughout the day blocked out the sun and blanketed several villages with falling ash. No casualties have been reported.</p>.<p>It was Merapi's biggest lava flow since authorities raised the alert level to the second-highest in November 2020, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.</p>.<p><strong>In Pics | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/dh-galleries/photos/in-pics-10-most-active-volcanoes-in-the-world-1166704#1" target="_blank">10 most active volcanoes in the world</a></strong></p>.<p>She said residents living on Merapi's slopes were advised to stay 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) away from the crater's mouth and be aware of the danger posed by lava.</p>.<p>Tourism and mining activities were halted.</p>.<p>The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Yogyakarta, an ancient center of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties going back centuries. About a quarter million people live within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the volcano.</p>.<p>Merapi is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has repeatedly erupted with lava and gas clouds recently.</p>.<p>Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and displaced 20,000 villagers.</p>.<p>Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.</p>.<p>An eruption in December 2021 of Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on Java island, left 48 people dead and 36 missing.</p>
<p>Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted on Saturday with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining activities on the slopes of the country's most active volcano.</p>.<p>Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) down its slopes.</p>.<p>A column of hot clouds rose 100 meters (yards) into the air, said the National Disaster Management Agency's spokesperson Abdul Muhari.</p>.<p>The eruption throughout the day blocked out the sun and blanketed several villages with falling ash. No casualties have been reported.</p>.<p>It was Merapi's biggest lava flow since authorities raised the alert level to the second-highest in November 2020, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.</p>.<p><strong>In Pics | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/dh-galleries/photos/in-pics-10-most-active-volcanoes-in-the-world-1166704#1" target="_blank">10 most active volcanoes in the world</a></strong></p>.<p>She said residents living on Merapi's slopes were advised to stay 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) away from the crater's mouth and be aware of the danger posed by lava.</p>.<p>Tourism and mining activities were halted.</p>.<p>The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Yogyakarta, an ancient center of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties going back centuries. About a quarter million people live within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the volcano.</p>.<p>Merapi is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has repeatedly erupted with lava and gas clouds recently.</p>.<p>Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and displaced 20,000 villagers.</p>.<p>Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.</p>.<p>An eruption in December 2021 of Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on Java island, left 48 people dead and 36 missing.</p>