<p>Indonesia’s Merapi volcano erupted at 8:20 am on Friday, June 1, for about two minutes, the National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB) said.</p><p>Merapi, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, spewed a 19,600-foot column of volcanic ash to the sky during its two-minute eruption, the BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Twitter</a>.</p><p>Shortly after, volcanic ash was reported falling on villages</a> on the slopes of the volcano</a>, including Selo</a>. The Research and Technological Development for Geological Disaster Agency (BPPTKG), which monitors Mount Merapi, warned</a> that volcanic ash may affect areas northwest of the volcano.</p><p>Volcanic ash also reached Ambarawa, a town nearly 40 miles north of Merapi, Detik.com reported</a>.</p><p>Mount Merapi, which is located on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java, has erupted several times since May 11.</p><p>The authorities raised</a> the status level to alert at 11 pm on May 21. An exclusion zone of 1.9-mile (3-kilometre) radius from Merapi’s peak remains in place. Credit: Homestay Merapi Indah Lestari via Storyful</p><br />
