The nation's Semeru volcano, the highest peak on the island of Java, has exploded, blanketing multiple communities with falling ash, prompting evacuations and leading authorities to raise the alert to the maximum level.
The mountain in East Java province released blistering plumes of fiery ash and a mixture of stone, molten rock, and gases that travelled up to 7km down its sides several times from midday to dusk, while a dense plume of hot clouds rose 2km into the air, as stated by Indonesia’s Geology Agency.
The outbursts that unfolded throughout the day forced authorities to raise the mountain's warning status on two occasions, from the level three to the top level, the agency said. No deaths or injuries have been announced.
More than 300 inhabitants in the three villages most at risk in the area of Lumajang were evacuated to official safe havens, as mentioned by a representative for the national emergency management body.
He said that heightened volcanic movements of the volcano on the afternoon of Wednesday prompted authorities to widen the hazard area to 5 miles from the crater. Residents were advised to stay clear from an area along the Kobokan River, which is the route of the molten rock stream, as scorching gases moved down the volcano's sides.
Videos on social media displayed a thick plume of ash sweeping through a wooded ravine to a waterway beneath a bridge. Residents, some with faces smeared with ash and rain, fled to makeshift refuges or departed for other safe areas.
Local media reported that authorities were facing challenges to rescue about 178 individuals stranded on the 3,676-metre mountain at the Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post. The party included 137 hikers, 15 carriers, seven escorts and six tourism officials, according to an official with the protected area.
“They remain secure at Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post,” a spokesperson said in a recorded message. He noted the post was situated 4.5km from the crater on the north side of the volcano, which is not in the path of the hot cloud flow that was seen moving to the southeast direction. Bad weather and rain required the group to spend the night there, he explained.
Semeru, also called Mahameru, has burst numerous times in the past 200 years. However, as is the case with numerous of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to reside on its productive highlands.
The mountain's last major eruption was in late 2021, when 51 people were killed and several hundred more were burned and settlements were buried in thick mud. The eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents from their houses.
Indonesia, an island chain of over 280 million people, sits along the Pacific seismic belt, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanism.
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