Indonesia's most active volcano, Mount Merapi erupted on Wednesday, with a river of lava flowing 1,500 metres down its slope and sending up searing gas clouds.
The volcano kept spewing ash, gas and extremely hot rock fragments for four hours. Merapi's last major eruption was in 2010, when it killed 347 people.
Following a series of explosions, where the volcano spewed ash, local residents fled their homes. The explosions happened right as people returned to their homes after fleeing earlier.
An alert was sent out, asking people to stay out of the 5-kilometre radius around the carter. Local administrations in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces continue to monitor the situation closely. Merapi is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes. The mountain's danger levels had peaked in November.
"We are taking inventory of vehicles that will be used to transport villagers," the head of the local civil protection agency, Makwan told Antara news agency. So far there have been no reports of ash rain in residential areas.
