Mount Mahameru Eruption in Indonesia Triggers Evacuations
The nation's Mount Semeru, the tallest summit on the island of Java, has erupted, covering several villages with falling ash, prompting evacuations and causing officials to elevate the alert to the highest level.
The volcano in the province of East Java unleashed searing clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that moved up to 4 miles down its slopes several times from midday to evening, while a thick column of hot clouds rose 2km into the sky, according to Indonesia’s Geology Agency.
The outbursts that unfolded throughout the day compelled officials to increase the mountain's warning status twice, from the third-highest level to the highest, the authority reported. No deaths or injuries have been announced.
More than 300 inhabitants in the three villages most endangered in the district of Lumajang were relocated to official safe havens, according to a representative for the national disaster mitigation agency.
He stated that heightened volcanic movements of the mountain on Wednesday afternoon prompted officials to widen the danger zone to 5 miles from the summit. Residents were urged to keep away from an area along the Kobokan River, which is the path of the molten rock stream, as scorching gases moved down the volcano's sides.
Footage on online platforms showed a thick plume of volcanic dust sweeping through a forested valley to a waterway beneath a overpass. Residents, some with faces smeared with volcanic dust and water, escaped to makeshift refuges or left for other safe areas.
Regional news outlets reported that emergency teams were struggling to save about 178 people stranded on the 3,676-metre peak at the Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post. The group comprised 137 climbers, 15 porters, seven escorts and six tourism officials, according to an official with the national park.
“They remain secure at Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post,” a spokesperson said in a recorded message. He noted the station was located 2.8 miles from the crater on the northern slope of the volcano, which is not in the path of the hot cloud flow that was observed traveling to the southeast direction. Bad weather and rain forced the team to remain overnight there, he added.
Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has burst numerous times in the last two centuries. Still, as is the case with numerous of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.
The mountain's last major eruption was in late 2021, when 51 individuals were lost their lives and hundreds others were injured and villages were buried in thick mud. The event led to the relocation of over ten thousand residents from their houses.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 280 million people, sits along the Pacific seismic belt, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is susceptible to earthquakes and volcanism.
