Lava streams from crater as Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupts

Indonesia’s most volatile volcano is erupting with plumes of ash rising from the crater and lava streaming down its slopes

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia’s most volatile volcano erupted Friday, releasing plumes of ash high into the air and sending streams of lava with searing gas clouds flowing down its slopes. No casualties were reported. Clouds of hot ash shot 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas spilled down Mount Merapi’s trembling slopes up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) at least six times since the morning as the volcano groaned and rumbled, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center. A series of strong pyroclastic flows were released from the actively growing lava dome in the inner summit crater of the 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) high volcano, Humaida said. Pyroclastic flow is a volcanic phenomenon includes turbulent and hot avalanches of hot lava rocks, ash and volcanic gasses mixed together.