Mount Semeru erupted on December 4, 2022 on the Indonesian island of Java. PA
On the island of Java in Indonesia, Mount Semeru erupted on Sunday December 4, a year after a deadly catastrophe. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Prevention (PVMBG) has decided to raise Mount Semeru’s alert level from level three to level four, the highest.
“This means that the danger is threatening populated areas and that the activity of the volcano has increased,” spokeswoman Hendra Gunawan told Kompas TV. Located in the east of the island of Java, of which it is the highest point at 3,676 meters, Mount Semeru spewed out an ash cloud about 1.5 kilometers high on Sunday.
No casualties were reported immediately after the eruption, but Mr Gunawan advised nearby residents to stay at least 8 km from the crater. Authorities also urged people to avoid a 13km-long area along a river that the volcanic ash cloud was moving towards.
The residents of the two most threatened villages have fled
Videos shared by local rescue group Irannala Rescue with Agence France-Presse (AFP) showed a gigantic cloud rising from the crater, completely obscuring the sun, and surrounding villages blanketed in ash and bathed in a dark mist were. According to TV stations, the area was hit by the monsoon on Sunday afternoon, with rainwater mixing with ash.
The plume of smoke and ash from Mount Semuru, December 4, 2022. AGUS HARIANTO / AFP
“Many people have started to descend from the flanks of the volcano,” the head of the administration of Lumajang district, where the volcano is located, told Kompas TV Thoriqul Haq. The residents of the two most threatened villages fled on their own, added a spokesman for the local emergency services.
Shelters have been set up for those displaced, and authorities have distributed masks to local residents to protect them from air pollution from the ash. After the outbreak, according to an AFP journalist, the internet was cut and the mobile network was down.
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Tsunami warning in Japan
For its part, Japan’s weather agency warned of a possible tsunami caused by the eruption of the Indonesian volcano at around 6:30 a.m. on the islands of Miyako and Yaeyama in the extreme south of the Japanese archipelago, according to the Kyodo news agency. An hour later, however, no damage had been reported.
The last eruption of Mount Semeru in December 2021 killed at least 51 people. Mudslides and ash engulfed entire villages and almost 10,000 people had to leave their homes. Another eruption took place two days later. A bridge connecting two districts in the region, which was rebuilt after last year’s eruption, was badly damaged again, according to the PVMBG on Sunday.
Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the collision of continental plates causes intense volcanic and seismic activity. The Southeast Asian archipelago has about 130 active volcanoes.