Volcanic activity increases on Indonesia's Java island

Scientists have warned that pressure building beneath a lava dome in the mouth of Indonesia's most volatile volcano could trigger one of its deadliest blasts in years, as residents living along the slopes were moved to temporary camps.

Mount Merapi, on Java island, has seen increased volcanic activity in recent days and officials have raised the alert level for the mountain to its highest level.

It last erupted in 2006, when it sent an avalanche of blistering gases and rock fragments racing down the mountain that killed two people.

Country Manager for Catholic Relief Services Indonesia, Yenni Suryani, says that the local government has already called for an evacuation of the area – especially for people living within a six-kilometre radius of the volcano.

“So far, I think only a small number of people who are living really close to that mountain were evacuated,” she told Vatican Radio.

Suryani says that the surrounding area is mostly residential and agricultural.

Listen to Yenni Suryani’s full interview with Kelsea Brennan-Wessels: