The Marapi volcanoin the west Indonesiabegan erupting again today, spewing volcanic ash 2 kilometers from its summit, according to authorities, who issued a warning of possible cold lava flows.

The eruption of Marapi, located in the western part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, began today at 13:04 local time (09:04 Greek time), Indonesia’s national disaster management agency said in a statement.

Authorities have for weeks raised the alert level for this volcano, which is one of Indonesia’s most active, to the second level of a four-degree scale and recommend that the population avoid a 4.5 kilometer zone around its crater, which has excluded.

Residents are urged to avoid “streams of water emanating from the Marapi volcano and to be alert for possible danger of cold lava (flows), especially when it rains,” said national disaster management agency spokesman Abdul Muhari.

Cold lava is a mixture of volcanic materials, containing ash, sand and rock, washed down the slopes of a volcano by rain.

In mid-May, at least 60 people died from cold lava that flowed after torrential rains in areas near Marapi, destroying dozens of houses and damaging roads and mosques.

Indonesia has frequent seismic activity due to its location on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”.

Last month, the Ruang volcano in northern Sulawesi erupted more than six times, forcing authorities to evacuate thousands of residents of neighboring islands.

In December, at least 24 hikers, mostly students, died on the slopes of Marapi after an explosion.