[CNN] The death toll from recent eruptions at Indonesia's Mount Merapi continues to rise as the volcano spewed hot ash clouds and gas on Sunday.

At least 156 people have died since Merapi started erupting on October 26, said Sigit, a doctor at Sardjito Hospital in Yogyakarta. Many Indonesians go by one name.



Ash columns reached as high as 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), according to the Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Merapi's rumblings could be heard as far as 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away, and the agency expanded the danger zone to 20 kilometers after Friday's deadly eruptions.

Data from the Indonesian Volcanology Technology Development and Assessment Agency indicated that a hot ash cloud that had hit a village near the crater was around 450-600 degrees Celsius (842-1,112 degrees Fahrenheit).

The volcano's wrath has reached villages in areas many thought were safe from Merapi's eruptions. Some of the victims who died lived 10 to 20 kilometers away from the volcano, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Relief agencies such as Plan Indonesia estimate about 200,000 people have been displaced.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in Yogyakarta on Sunday with several of his ministers to oversee relief efforts.

The president has announced that residents will receive compensation for livelihoods and animals lost to the eruptions. Yudhoyono said the government will buy endangered cows on the volcano. Many of those who live on its slopes raise cattle and risked their lives by staying or returning to feed their cows.

The 3,000-meter (9,800-foot) Merapi, in Central Java, is famously unpredictable. An eruption killed two people in 2006 and another killed more than 60 villagers in 1994. About 1,300 people died when Merapi erupted in 1930.

In addition, last week a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's coast, triggering a tsunami and killing at least 449 people. Hundreds more were injured.