Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted on March 11 at around noon Western Indonesia Time (WIB), spewing hot clouds up to seven kilometres.

The volcano, located in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta special region, was already on the country's second-highest alert level.

In his official statement, the Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), Agus Budi Santoso, said:

"At this time, the eruption is still ongoing. People are advised to stay away from the danger zone".

The Research and Development Center for Geological Disaster Technology (BPPTKG) asked the public to stay away from the danger zone within a 7-kilometer radius of the peak of the stratovolcano.

Tourism and mining activities have been halted.

Mount Merapi located on the border of Central Java Province and Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY) erupted on Saturday (11/3/2023). As a result, a flow of hot clouds of volcanic materials occurred towards Kali Bebeng or Kali Krasak.

Head of the Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), Agus Budi Santoso, in his official statement in Yogyakarta on Saturday, stated that the flow of hot clouds occurred at 12:12 pm WIB. He revealed that the eruption of Mount Merapi is still ongoing.

"At this time, the eruption is still ongoing. People are advised to stay away from the danger zone," said Santoso.

BPPTKG requested that the public stay away from the danger zone within a 7 kilometer radius from the peak of Mount Merapi in the Kali Bebeng and Krasak corridors.

As of now, BPPTKG has not yet provided an official report on the distance of the flow of hot clouds, which is a result of the eruption of Mount Merapi.

Based on observations on Saturday (11/3/2023) from 06:00-12:00 WIB, BPPTKG recorded one lava flow eruption from Mount Merapi with a maximum distance of 1,500 meters towards the southwest.

During that period, Mount Merapi was also noted to have experienced nine eruption earthquakes, one multi-phase earthquake, and 19 volcanic earthquakes, according to Agus Budi Santoso.