PVMBG reported that eruptive activity at Marapi (on Sumatra) was ongoing during 7-13 February. White and gray gas-and-ash plumes rose as high as 700 m above the summit and drifted in multiple directions. On 10 February at 1651, PVMBG reported that an ash plume rose 700 m above the summit and drifted SW. According to the Darwin VAAC ash plumes rose over 700 m above the crater on most days and drifted N, E, SSW, and SW, though weather conditions sometimes prevented identification in satellite data. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a scale of 1-4), and the public was warned to stay 4.5 km away from the active crater.

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.

Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)