<p>Mount Merapi, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupted on Friday, May 11, according to social media posts by the country’s National Disaster Management Authority.</p><p>The volcano erupted around 7:30 am, spewing volcanic ash and pyroclastic material, according to</a> the agency, known by its Indonesian initials BNPB.</p><p>A column of white smoke emerges from its crater, rising 18,045 feet (5,500 meters) into the sky.</p><p>The government has instructed people living in a three-mile radius around the volcano to evacuate, and 190 residents left the area on Friday morning</a>. Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta was temporarily closed</a> due to the eruption.</p><p>Around 120 people climbed Merapi prior to the morning eruption, but were forced to descend to a safe place, BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said</a>.</p><p>The areas around Merapi, located on Indonesia’s most crowded island of Java, are heavily populated with farmers making a living off its fertile volcanic soil. The volcano’s last major eruption was in 2010, causing</a> 386 deaths and more than 300,000 evacuations. Credit: Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) via Storyful</p><br />
