Mount Merapi's Devastation Seen From Space

merapi-nasa-eruption-101116-02 — A false-color satellite image from NASA shows the extent of the pyroclastic flows on the south of Mount Merapi.

(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory.)

Indonesia's relentlessly erupting Mount Merapi has killed 259 people so far, according to news reports, though its current eruptions continue at a less fervent pace than in previous weeks.

The current spate of eruptions began almost two weeks ago on Oct. 26.

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

As the world's largest archipelago made up of 17,500 islands, with 235 million people spread across them Indonesia sits between the world's most active seismic region , the notorious Pacific Ring of Fire , and the world's second-most active region, the Alpide belt. Sandwiched between the two earthquake belts, the islands experience some of the most powerful volcanic eruptions and strongest quakes on Earth.

The scorching volcanic ash belching from Mount Merapi has killed many of the plants and trees within 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) of the mountain, leaving a virtual dead zone in its wake. In the above image, the dark gray area just north of a golf course is a dead zone where a pyroclastic flow burst across the landscape, wiping out everything in its path. Healthy vegetation is bright red in the above NASA image.

TOPICS

Brett Israel was a staff writer for Live Science with a focus on environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, a master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and has studied doctorate-level biochemistry at Emory University.