Jakarta, March 10, 2022, SPA -- Mount Merapi on Indonesia's Java island ejected searing-hot, fast-moving clouds several times overnight, forcing hundreds of people to flee, the country's disaster management agency said Thursday, according to the dpa. A mixture of hot lava, ash and gases known as pyroclastic flows travelled up to 5,000 metres on the south-east slope of the volcano, said Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency. Ash also rained down on several villages around the volcano, he said. As many as 253 residents have sought refuge in safer locations, he said, adding that aid was being sent to them. The volcano's alert level remained at its second-highest, with a 5-kilometre radius around Mount Merapi declared an exclusion zone. --SPA 11:16 LOCAL TIME 08:16 GMT 0004 www.spa.gov.sa/w1703520