Indonesian newspapers reported that Marapi ejected a black eruption column for about 30 minutes beginning at 0700 on 10 March. The governor of West Sumatra noted that there have been two previous small eruptions in 1982. Camps have been prepared to receive evacuees if a large eruption occurs.

Geological Summary. Gunung Marapi, not to be confused with the better-known Merapi volcano on Java, is Sumatra's most active volcano. This massive complex stratovolcano rises 2,000 m above the Bukittinggi Plain in the Padang Highlands. A broad summit contains multiple partially overlapping summit craters constructed within the small 1.4-km-wide Bancah caldera. The summit craters are located along an ENE-WSW line, with volcanism migrating to the west. More than 50 eruptions, typically consisting of small-to-moderate explosive activity, have been recorded since the end of the 18th century; no lava flows outside the summit craters have been reported in historical time.

Information Contacts: M. Krafft, Cernay, France.