‘River of lava’: Indonesia’s Mount Merapi volcano on Java enters effusive eruption phase

Indonesia’s volatile Mount Merapi volcano has unleashed a river of lava that flowed 1,400 meters (4,590 feet) down its slopes, AP reported. Merapi, on the island of Java, has entered an “effusive eruption phase,” Kasbani, head of the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, said on Wednesday. Kasbani, who goes by a single name, said the volcanic material that spewed out late Tuesday was the volcano’s longest lava flow since it began erupting again in August. The alert level of the volcano has not been raised but people should stay out of a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) danger zone around the crater. The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain, located near the ancient Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes.