Volcano Mahameru Eruption in Indonesia Triggers Evacuations
Indonesia's Semeru volcano, the tallest summit on Java island, has exploded, covering several villages with volcanic ash, prompting evacuations and causing officials to elevate the alert to the maximum level.
The mountain in East Java province released blistering plumes of fiery ash and a combination of stone, molten rock, and gases that moved up to 7km down its sides several times from midday to evening, while a dense plume of hot clouds rose 2km into the sky, according to the nation's geological authority.
The outbursts that occurred throughout the day forced officials to increase the volcano’s alert level twice, from the third-highest level to the top level, the agency said. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
Over three hundred inhabitants in the three communities most at risk in the district of Lumajang were evacuated to government shelters, according to a spokesperson for the national emergency management body.
He stated that heightened volcanic movements of the volcano on the afternoon of Wednesday led officials to expand the hazard area to 8km from the summit. Residents were advised to stay clear from an area along the Kobokan River, which is the path of the molten rock stream, as scorching gases moved down Semeru’s slopes.
Footage on online platforms showed a thick plume of ash moving through a wooded ravine to a river beneath a bridge. Locals, some with faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, escaped to temporary shelters or left for alternative secure locations.
Local media indicated that authorities were struggling to rescue about 178 people stranded on the 12,060-foot mountain at the Ranu Kumbolo observation station. The party included 137 hikers, 15 porters, seven escorts and six tourism officials, according to an spokesperson with the national park.
“They are currently safe at the Ranu Kumbolo station,” an official said in a video statement. He noted the post was located 4.5km from the crater on the north side of the volcano, which is outside the trajectory of the fiery cloud movement that was seen moving to the south-southeast. Inclement conditions and precipitation required the team to spend the night there, he explained.
The volcano, also known as Mahameru, has erupted many occasions in the last two centuries. However, as is the situation with many of the 129 active volcanoes in the archipelago, thousands of people still to live on its productive highlands.
Semeru’s last major eruption was in late 2021, when 51 individuals were lost their lives and hundreds others were burned and settlements were buried in layers of mud. The event forced the relocation of more than 10,000 people from their homes.
Indonesia, an island chain of over 280 million inhabitants, is located along the Pacific seismic belt, a curved series of fault lines, and is susceptible to earthquakes and volcanism.
