Mount Merapi (Indonesian: Gunung Merapi; Javanese: ꦒꦸꦤꦸꦁꦩꦼꦫꦥꦶ, romanized: gunung měrapi, lit. 'Fire Mountain') is an active stratovolcano located on the border between the province of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 km (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million. Thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 m (5,577 ft) above sea level. Smoke can often be seen rising from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. A pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it was designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes, which are considered worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to densely populated areas. On the afternoon of 25 October 2010, Merapi erupted on its southern and southeastern slopes. A total of 353 people were killed over the next month, while 350,000 were forced to flee their homes; most of the damage was done by pyroclastic flows, while heavy rain on 4 November created lahars which caused further damage. Most of the fissures had ceased erupting by 30 November, and four days later the official threat level was lowered. Merapi's characteristic shape was changed during the eruptions, with its height lowered by 38 m (125 ft) to 2,930 m (9,613 ft). Since 2010, Merapi has experienced several smaller eruptions, most noticeably two phreatic eruptions which occurred on 18 November 2013 and 11 May 2018. The first and larger of these, caused by a combination of rainfall and internal activity, saw smoke issued up to a height of 2,000 m (6,562 ft). There have been several small eruptions since the beginning of 2020, which are of great interest to volcanologists.
Etymology The name Merapi is a compound word of Sanskrit Meru meaning "mountain" with Javanese api which means "fire". The term Merapi can be loosely translated as "Mountain of Fire" or "Fire Mountain". According to Mahdi (2005), the name of the volcano "Merapi" is derived from an Old Malay affixation of the Old Malay word api (fire) with the prefix, mər- which is believed to be an ancestor of the ber- prefix of modern Malay and Indonesian. He also believes that the same applies to the name of the volcano, Mount Marapi of West Sumatra. If mər- is indeed the ancestor of modern Malay and Indonesian ber-, then that would make the name of the volcano morphologically identical to the Malay and Indonesian word berapi (to spew out fire) which, combined with the word, gunung (mountain), would make up the modern Malay and Indonesian word for "volcano", gunung berapi.
History
Geological history
Merapi is the youngest in a group of volcanoes in southern Java. It is situated at a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian plate is subducting under the Sunda plate. It is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the volcano is located in the Southeastern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire—a section of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and South East Asia. Stratigraphic analysis reveals that eruptions in the Merapi area began about 400,000 years ago, and from then until about 10,000 years ago, eruptions were typically effusive, and the out flowing lava emitted was basaltic. Since then, eruptions have become more explosive, with viscous andesitic lavas often generating lava domes. Dome collapse has often generated pyroclastic flows, and larger explosions, which have resulted in eruption columns, have also generated pyroclastic flows through column collapse. Typically, small eruptions occur every two to three years, and larger ones every 10–15 years or so. Notable eruptions, often causing many deaths, have occurred in 1006, 1786, 1822, 1872, and 1930. Thirteen villages were destroyed in the latter one, and 1,400 people were killed by pyroclastic flows.
The very large eruption in 1006 is claimed to have covered all of central Java with ash. The volcanic devastation is claimed to have led to the collapse of the Hindu Kingdom of Mataram; however, the evidence from that era is insufficient for this to be substantiated.
2006 eruption In April, increased seismicity at more regular intervals and a detected bulge in the volcano's cone indicated that fresh eruptions were imminent. Authorities put the volcano's neighboring villages on high alert and local residents prepared for a likely evacuation. On 19 April smoke from the crater reached a height of 400 m (1,300 ft), compared to 75 m (246 ft) the previous day. On 23 April, after nine surface tremors and some 156 multifaced quakes signalled movements of magma, some 600 elderly and infant residents of the slopes were evacuated. By early May, active lava flows had begun. On 11 May, with lava flow beginning to be constant, some 17,000 people were ordered to be evacuated from the area and on 13 May, Indonesian authorities raised the alert status to the highest level, ordering the immediate evacuation of all residents on the mountain. Many villagers defied the dangers posed by the volcano and returned to their villages, fearing that their livestock and crops would be vulnerable to theft. Activity calmed by the middle of May. On 27 May, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck roughly 50 km (31 mi) southwest of Merapi, killing at least 5,000 and leaving at least 200,000 people homeless in the Yogyakarta region, heightening fears that Merapi would "blow". The quake did not appear to be a long-period oscillation, a seismic disturbance class that is increasingly associated with major volcanic eruptions. A further 11,000 villagers were evacuated on 6 June as lava and superheated clouds of gas poured repeatedly down its upper slopes towards Kaliadem, a location that was located southeast of Mt. Merapi. The pyroclastic flows are known locally as "wedhus gembel" (Javanese for "shaggy goat"). There were two fatalities as the result of the eruption.
2010 eruption
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