Merapi volcano of Indonesia blows ashes 

Indonesia’s most volatile volcano erupted again on Saturday, releasing plumes of ash into the air and sending streams of lava and debris down its slopes. No casualties were reported.

An avalanche of rocks poured down the slopes of Mount Merapi before dawn and hot ash clouds shot 200 meters (656 feet) into the air as the mountain groaned and rumbled, said Hanik Humaida, director of the Geological Hazard Mitigation Center and Yogyakarta Volcanology.

The volcano unleashed hot clouds of ash at least eight times since morning, as well as a series of pyroclastic flows, a mix of rock, debris, lava, and gases, that reached almost 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) down its slopes, he said. Humaid.

The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) high volcano is located on the densely populated island of Java, near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. It is the most active of dozens of Indonesian volcanoes and has recently erupted repeatedly.

The Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center has advised villagers living on the slopes of Merapi to stay within 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of its crater and be aware of the danger of lava.

The last major Merapi eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped area along the ocean’s edge that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.