Check out this dramatic footage showing the moment Mount Merapi erupted on the island of Java, shooting heavy dark plumes of gas into the atmosphere as burning lava flowed down the mountainside creeping toward the villages below.
A volcano in Indonesia exploded Saturday in a terrifying mushroom cloud of thick smoke and ash that swallowed up the sky... the video is just INSANE!!
The eye-popping scene conjured up images of a nuclear bomb. Thankfully, there were no initial reports of injuries on the island, which has 151.6 million people. That, of course, could change.
Still, with all the toxic fumes and boiling magma, the towns in the surrounding area were shut down for mining and tourism by government order.
Just a little background on Mount Merapi...it's considered the most active of the more than 120 volcanoes across Indonesia and, in the past, it's left a trail of death and destruction.
Back in 2010, the volcano erupted, killing over 300 people and leaving scores of villagers homeless.