( CNN ) -- The worst might be over on Indonesia 's Mount Merapi volcano , disaster officials said Thursday . They urged calm in the aftermath of recent eruptions , which started on October 26 and have killed 191 people . `` Generally speaking , Mount Merapi has passed its dangerous phase , '' the National Agency for Disaster Management said . It cited recent eruptions versus historic ones . Merapi 's recent eruptions have released about 140 million cubic meters of magma , the disaster agency said . The previous record flow occurred in 1872 , at 100 million cubic meters . The information was released in an attempt to reassure Indonesians , especially those in the Yogyakarta and Central Java area . Despite that , government volcanology experts have kept Merapi 's alert level at 4 , the highest . On Wednesday , the Merapi Disaster Health Team said that the recent eruptions have seriously injured 145 people , and left scores of others less severely hurt . The eruptions have displaced nearly 344,000 residents , many who are now living in refugee camps , the National Agency for Disaster Management said . To restore a sense of normalcy for displaced students , classes have started at the camps , disaster officials said Thursday . President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called the volcano eruptions a crisis situation . Over the weekend , he and several of his ministers visited Yogyakarta to oversee relief efforts . On Thursday , disaster officials said dredging has begun . The work is being done to limit further destruction . `` We 've taken steps to anticipate possible lava floods from upstream , '' said Syamsul Maarif , the head of the National Agency for Disaster Management . The 3,000-meter ( 9,800-foot ) Merapi , in Central Java , is famously unpredictable . About 1,300 people died when it erupted in 1930 . Many people continue to live in the shadow of the volcano , raising food and livestock . The president has announced that residents will receive compensation for livelihoods and animals lost to the eruptions . The government will buy endangered cows on the volcano , Yudhoyono said . Many of those who live on its slopes risked their lives by staying or returning to feed their cows during lulls of volcanic activity . CNN 's Kathy Quiano contributed to this report .
Generally speaking , Mount Merapi has passed its dangerous phase , '' the government says . It cited recent eruptions vs. historic ones and compared magma flow . Eruptions that started on October 26 and have killed 191 people . The last eruption was in 1963 when a volcano erupted at an altitude of about 6,700 meters ( 19,500 feet ).