Authorities were forced to cease tourism and mining operations on the slopes of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi after it erupted with avalanches of burning gas clouds and lava.

On the heavily populated island of Java, the volcano Merapi erupted, spewing clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava, and gas.

The eruption on Saturday blocked out the sun and blanketed several villages with falling ash.

There have been no recorded casualties.

It was Merapi’s biggest lava flow since authorities raised the alert level to the second-highest back in November 2020.