Indonesia's Mount Semeru, the highest peak on Java island, has exploded, blanketing several villages with falling ash, prompting evacuations and leading authorities to raise the alert to the highest level.
The volcano in East Java province released blistering plumes of hot ash and a mixture of stone, molten rock, and gases that moved up to 4 miles down its slopes multiple times from noon to dusk, while a thick column of hot clouds rose 1.2 miles into the air, as stated by the nation's geological authority.
The eruptions that unfolded throughout the day forced officials to increase the volcano’s alert level twice, from the level three to the highest, the authority reported. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
More than 300 residents in the three communities most at risk in the district of Lumajang region were relocated to official safe havens, as mentioned by a representative for the national disaster mitigation agency.
He stated that increased activity of the mountain on the afternoon of Wednesday led officials to expand the danger zone to 8km from the crater. Residents were urged to keep away from an area along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is the route of the molten rock stream, as searing gas flowed down the volcano's sides.
Footage on online platforms showed a dense cloud of volcanic dust moving through a forested valley to a waterway beneath a overpass. Residents, some with faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, escaped to temporary shelters or departed for alternative secure locations.
Regional news outlets indicated that authorities were facing challenges to rescue about 178 people stranded on the 3,676-metre peak at the Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post. The group comprised 137 climbers, 15 porters, seven guides and six travel representatives, according to an official with the protected area.
“They remain secure at Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post,” a spokesperson said in a video statement. He noted the post was situated 4.5km from the summit on the north side of the volcano, which is not in the path of the fiery cloud movement that was seen traveling to the south-southeast. Inclement conditions and precipitation required the team to remain overnight there, he explained.
The volcano, also known as Mahameru, has burst many occasions in the past 200 years. Still, as is the situation with numerous of the 129 active volcanoes in the archipelago, thousands of people still to live on its productive highlands.
The mountain's previous significant explosion was in December 2021, when 51 individuals were killed and several hundred more were injured and villages were buried in thick mud. The eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents from their homes.
The country, an island chain of over 280 million inhabitants, sits along the Pacific seismic belt, a horseshoe-shaped series of tectonic boundaries, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanism.
