Cloud of smoke: A file photo of Mount Semeru spewing thick ash into the sky at Lumajang, East Java, in 2022. — AFP
MOUNT Semeru, located on the border between Lumajang and Malang in East Java, has erupted several times, spewing columns of ash into the air and prompting authorities to warn residents to stay away from the eruption area.
Data from the Semeru Observation Post in Lumajang showed that the volcano had erupted three times between midnight and 7am on Wednesday, with ash columns varying in height between 500m and 1,000m above the mountain’s summit.
“The first eruption occurred at 2.47am and the plume reached 1,000m above the peak. The seismic record showed a maximum amplitude of 22mm with a duration of 115 seconds,” Semeru Observation Post official Mukdas Sofian said, reported Kompas.
Two other eruptions occurred at around 4am and 7am with lower ash columns of 500m and 600m high respectively.
Authorities have maintained Mt Semeru’s status at Level II for Waspada on the four-tier volcano alert system, and advised people to avoid activities within a southeastern area stretching 8km to the Besuk Kobokan River, the projected path of the lava flow.
Officials also cautioned the public to stay clear of areas within 500m of the river because of the potential for pyroclastic clouds and lahars that could extend up to 13km from the summit.
Additionally, residents are prohibited from engaging in any activities within a 3km radius of the summit because of the risk of falling rocks.
Semeru has been showing heightened volcanic activity since November of last year. The 3,676-metre-high volcano has erupted more than 100 times since the beginning of the year, with 43 of those eruptions occurring on Tuesday alone.
The volcano experienced two massive eruptions in the past few years, including an eruption in December of 2021 that killed 51 people and forced nearly 10,000 others to flee their homes.
In December 2022, authorities were forced to evacuate 2,000 residents living around the mountain after it spewed a cloud of ash 15km into the sky.
Authorities have kept the summit of Semeru off-limits to the public since 2019 because of a combination of heightened volcanic activity and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before the closure, Semeru, the highest mountain on Java Island, was one of the country’s most popular hiking destinations, attracting between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors annually. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
