After being shaken by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, the island of Java in Indonesia faces a new dramatic event with the eruption of the Semeru volcano, which ejects a large cloud of ash and threatens the population.
The Semeru volcano on the island of Java in Indonesia erupted early Sunday morning, throwing up an ash plume that prompted authorities to urge people to avoid the area. The Indonesian Civil Protection Agency (BNPB) has asked residents not to get closer than several kilometers to the center of the eruption and to stay away from riverbanks because of the danger of lava flows. Alert risk has been raised to the maximum level. The previous eruption of the volcano killed 51 people.
Japan’s meteorological agency said it was monitoring whether a tsunami formed after the eruption, broadcaster NHK reported. The volcano erupted at 2:46 a.m. local time (19:46 GMT Saturday), BNPB said in a statement, adding that volcanic activity remained at Level III, below the most important Level (IV).
The event follows a strong earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday, which was struck ten days ago without appearing to cause significant damage this time, authorities said. According to the Indonesian geophysical agency BMKG, the epicenter of the magnitude 6.1 earthquake (it was originally estimated at 6.4) was again in the western part of Java, 118 km deep.
The earthquake was felt as far as the capital Jakarta, 200 km from the epicenter, and very strong in cities like Bandung, where residents fled to the streets. But according to National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari, no major damage has been reported so far. One person was injured and four houses damaged in the town of Garut, he said, adding that investigations were continuing in the western part of the island near the epicenter. The much shallower 5.6 magnitude earthquake recorded in Cianjur on November 21 killed more than 300 people, according to the latest official report.