Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia - Mount Marapi, an active volcano in West Sumatra, Indonesia, erupted again on Thursday (5/30/2024), sending a plume of volcanic ash 2,000 meters as high as 6,560 feet into the sky.

CCTV footage captured by a surveillance camera near the volcano's crater at the Jabal Nur Masjid- Cumantiang, Arubai, Bukik Batabuah village, Canduang district, Agam regency, West Sumatra province, shows accelerated video of the thick gray smoke billowing into the sky.

The eruption of Mount Marapi on that day began with a loud bang that could be heard as far as the city of Bukittinggi, 15 km from the eruption center in the Verbeek crater at the top of the mount.

"I was inside the house that afternoon when I heard a loud bang and immediately looked towards Mount Marapi, which was already emitting black smoke about 1,000 meters high, which continued to rise higher and higher," said Wahyu Lelo, a local resident of Bukittinggi who recorded the video, to Newsflare on Saturday (June 1).

The Marapi Volcano Observation Post of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Geological Agency in Belakang Balok-Bukittinggi, recorded the eruption occurring at 13:04 WIB, May 30, 2024, with an amplitude of 30.4 mm and a duration of 122 seconds.

Moh. Nurul Asrori, a Marapi observation officer, said that the wind was blowing weakly to the southwest but that no areas around the mountain had reported volcanic ash fall.

"The eruption at 13:04 on Thursday was an eruption of Mount Marapi with a column height of 2,000 meters from the top of the mountain. We urge residents to always wear masks and eye protection if volcanic ash falls. The amplitude of the explosion was large, approximately 30 millimeters. According to our seismograph, there have been three eruptions this month of May," added Asrori, as reported in the video.

Mount Marapi's activity status has been raised to Alert or Level III since January 9, 2024. Anyone is prohibited from approaching the top of the mountain within a radius of 4.5 kilometers.

Mount Marapi has been erupting since December 3, 2023. At that time, 24 hikers who were on the peak were trapped and killed.

The long eruption activity of Marapi did not stop and accumulated thick volcanic ash at the peak. Most recently, extreme heavy rains in the Mount Marapi area caused cold lava floods and landslides on May 11, 2024. The tragedy resulted in 62 deaths and 10 others are still missing as of today (Sunday, June 2).