JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava Sunday in its latest eruption.
Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Mount Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported. Several hundred residents, their faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, fled to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.
Thick columns of ash were blasted more than 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet) into the sky while searing gas and lava flowed down Semeru’s slopes toward a nearby river.
Increased activities of the volcano on Sunday afternoon prompted authorities to widen the danger zone to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater, said Hendra Gunawan, who heads the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.
He said scientists raised the volcano's alert level to the highest and people were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.
Semeru’s last major eruption was in December last year, when it blew up with fury that left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Several hundred others suffered serious burns and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The government moved about 2,970 houses out of the danger zone.
Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the past 200 years. Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
The Associated Press
Yesterday
Several villages surrounding Mount Semeru, Indonesia's tallest volcano, have been blanketed in ash and soot following its latest eruption.
Evacuations were announced Sunday as the 12,060-foot volcano, located in East Java in Indonesia, about 300 miles southeast of the capital Jakarta, began to spew lava and ash into the densely populated island on Sunday just before 3 a.m. local time, according to local authorities.MORE: Yellowstone supervolcano has a lot more magma than previously thought: Scientists
Thick ash was blasted more than 4,000 feet into the air while lava flowed down the slopes toward the Besuk Kobokan river, about 8 miles from the crater, the country's National Disaster Management Agency announced.
People are seen as Mount Semeru continues to spew volcanic ash after its eruption, Dec. 5, 2022, in Lumajang Regency, Indonesia.
At one point, the volcanic activity level had been raised to Level 4, the highest status, according to Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.MORE: Lava oozing out of Mauna Loa inching closer to main highway on Hawaii's Big Island
While monsoon rains eventually eroded and collapsed the lava dome on top of Mount Semeru, nearby villages were advised to stay more than 3 miles away from the crater's mouth and prompted evacuations for thousands of people, officials said.
Smoke rises from Mount Semeru, Dec. 5, 2022, in Lumajang Regency, Indonesia.
Hundreds of people were moved to temporary shelters or evacuated the area, The Associated Press reported, citing the disaster management agency in Lumajang in the East Java province.
Prior to Sunday, Mount Semeru erupted from Nov. 23 to Nov. 29, with daily explosions at the summit that sent ash plumes nearly 3,000 feet into the sky, according to the Global Volcanism Program at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History.
The last major eruption occurred in December 2021, which killed 51 people in nearby villages, according to the AP. More than 10,000 villagers were evacuated, and hundreds of people were severely burned by the hot ash and lava expelled from the volcano.
People stand before Mount Semeru following a volcanic eruption at Kajar Kuning village, Dec. 5, 2022, in Lumajang Regency, Indonesia.
There are 129 active volcanoes within the Indonesian archipelago, and tens of thousands of people continue to live downslope from the summits.
Indonesia sits along the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific, a series of fault lines prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
More people flee after eruption of Indonesia's Mount Semeru
Rescuers evacuated more people Monday from nearby villages after the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Semeru, with officials warning of danger from cooling lava despite less activity from the volcano
More than 2,400 villagers have now fled their homes and taken shelter in 11 evacuation centers after the highest mountain on the country's main island of Java erupted early morning Sunday.
"The military, police, local disaster and village officials keep evacuating people in Curah Kobokan where the hot ash cloud and cold lava might travel," Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, told local television.
"So far the total number of evacuees is 2,489."
Officials have announced a state of emergency for the next two weeks and authorities have been distributing free masks to protect against ash in the air while setting up public kitchens for evacuees.
On Monday morning, dozens of evacuees in Lumajang district where Semeru is located ventured back to their ash-covered homes to retrieve important belongings, before returning to shelters, according to an AFP journalist.
Some shepherded livestock while others carried appliances such as TVs and refrigerators as the volcano spewed ash in the background.
Muhari said visual observation of Semeru on Monday morning indicated less intense volcanic activity but he warned of potential danger from lava flows that had cooled after heavy rain.
"What we worry about is economic activities such as sand mining. We want to make sure the route where the hot ash cloud and the cold lava might travel is completely free of activity," he said.
The government's alert status indicating danger from the volcano was raised to its highest level Sunday. It had previously been at its second-highest level since a major eruption last December.
Last year's eruption killed 51 people and damaged more than 5,000 homes while forcing nearly 10,000 people to seek refuge.
Many of the victims from that disaster were sand miners working high on the slopes of the volcano.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where the meeting of continental plates causes substantial volcanic and seismic activity. The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.
© 2022 AFP
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