An Indonesian official in charge of monitoring disaster across the country said on Saturday that eruptions of Mount Merapi volcano has killed 283 people since it began erupting late last month, with more than 270,000 people still living in makeshift camps.

"Some people under treatment have died and more bodies have been recovered from around the volcano," Ratnasari, an official at the National Disaster Mitigation agency (BNPB) said updating the last fatalities data from the disaster in Central Java province that hit 275.

The government reduced the exclusion zone on Friday for the second time since last weekend because of the declining volatility of the volcano, the Jakarta Globe reported.

Ratnasari said they had updated the number of refugees from more than 300,000 people. Merapi killed around 1,300 people in 1930 but experts say the current eruptions are its biggest convulsions since 1872.