Teams from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) witnessed a huge eruption at Mount Marapi while they were clearing rocks from a previous lava flow.

Footage from May 30 shows ash being emitted from the volcano.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has begun carrying out the initial stages of drilling on volcanic rock material before finally entering the demolition or blasting stage of the rock.

This initial stage of drilling was carried out by a number of teams of experts from various scientific disciplines on Thursday, May 30, 2024.

Demolishment or blasting was carried out to prevent large rocks still on the slopes of the volcano from falling on residential areas if a subsequent flood of cold lava occurred.

However, this process had to be stopped because the mountain located between Agam Regency and Tanah Datar Regency experienced another major eruption on Thursday afternoon.

The Marapi Volcano Observation Post from the Volcanology Center for Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) reported that the volcano, 2,891 meters above sea level (masl), experienced an eruption at 13.04 WIB or 06.04 UTC.

The ash column was observed reaching 2,000 meters above the peak, or 4,891 meters above sea level. This eruption was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 30.4 mm and a temporary duration of 2 minutes and 2 seconds.