The Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) reported that white plumes rose 100-200 m above the summit of Marapi (on Sumatra) during 5-10 February and drifted in multiple directions. An eruptive event was recorded at 1820 on 7 February but emission heights were unknown. The Darwin VAAC reported that an ash plume was visible in a satellite image at 0620 on 8 February drifting E at an estimated altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft) a.s.l. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4) and the public was warned to stay 3 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)