News from Merapi Volcano

The Indonesian volcano Merapi has been in an unsettled state since April. On Saturday 13 May the authorities declared Merapi to be in Red status (Level 4), meaning an eruption is imminent and the neighborhood should be evacuated. About 22,000 residents are affected. On Monday the mountain sent up a cloud of ash, but authorities did not proclaim an actual eruption yet.

There is surprisingly little real-time content on Merapi. The Indonesian agency's Web site is chronically slow, but it has a Merapi bulletin page and a Merapi Volcano Observatory page. Probably the best thing is to monitor the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, Google News and the BBC for bulletins. After that, try my Eruption News category.