Our team was on location in Central Java to witness the eruption of Mount Merapi and speak to residents about this latest instance of potentially dangerous volcanic activity and what it is like living in the vicinity of the world’s most active volcano.

On March 11, Mount Merapi in the Central Java region of Indonesia erupted, spewing thick plumes of smoke and ash into the sky.  

According to the country's Disaster Mitigation Agency, no casualties have been reported thus far. However, eight villages near the volcano have reportedly been affected by the ash.

The Merapi Volcano Observatory estimated that the ash cloud could reach around 9,600 feet (3,000 metres) above the summit. Authorities declared a restricted zone of seven kilometres (4.35 miles) from the crater after the eruption, recorded at 12:12 pm local time (05:12 GMT) on the day of the incident.

The last deadly and major eruption of Mount Merapi, in 2010, reportedly killed over 300 residents and caused some 280,000 to be evacuated.

The video below shows how we validated the footage we received from the area surrounding Mount Merapi in the wake of the volcano’s eruption.