The Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) reported that eruptive activity at Marapi (on Sumatra) continued during 12-18 March. White plumes generally rose as high as 300 m above the summit and drifted in multiple directions on most days. An eruptive event was recorded at 0755 on 13 March but not visually observed due to weather conditions. At 0700 on 16 March and at 1120 on 17 March dense gray ash plumes rose 800 m and 600 m above the summit and drifted N and NW, respectively. 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.

Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)