LUMAJANG, Indonesia —
Indonesia’s Mount
Semeru erupted Sunday spewing hot ash clouds more than a kilometer high and
rivers of lava down its side while sparking the evacuation of nearly 2,000
people exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens.
اضافة اعلان
The burst from the highest mountain on Indonesia’s main
island of Java, around 800km southeast of the capital Jakarta, prompted
authorities to raise the alert status for the volcano to the highest level.
Villages around Semeru were being battered by a mix
of volcanic ash and monsoon rains. Videos shared with AFP by a local rescue
group showed a huge black cloud rising from the volcano, engulfing the sky and
blocking the sun.
One resident described the panic when the ash clouds
descended.
“Hot avalanches” triggered by piles of lava at the
top flooded down the 3,676m mountain, said Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
A spokesperson for Indonesia’s Volcanology and
Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre (PVMBG) told broadcaster Kompas TV that
the higher alert level meant local villages were in danger.
However, no casualties or injuries were reported on
Sunday after the PVMBG warned nearby residents not to travel within 8km of the
crater.
The geological agency said that by evening Semeru
was “still in the eruption phase” though the size of the ash clouds was
decreasing.
“Overall the activity is still very high,” it said
in a statement.
The internet in the area was down and phone signals
were patchy after the eruption, according to an AFP journalist.
Rain and ash
The BNPB said 1,979 people
had been taken to 11 shelters, with at least six villages affected by the
eruption.
Local administration official Indah Amperawati
Masdar said residents would only be allowed to return home when the hot clouds
had dissipated.
Residents were also told to avoid a southeastern
area 13km along a river in the direction the ash was travelling.
Most residents in the two villages most at risk had
been evacuated, said Patria Dwi Hastiadi, a spokesperson for the Lumajang
Disaster Mitigation Agency.
Locals fled on motorbikes, some three at a time with
their belongings, while others helped the elderly evacuate safely. One resident
was covered in mud that had rained down on him as a mix of rain and ash.
Japan’s weather agency had earlier warned that a
tsunami could be triggered by the eruption affecting southern islands in the
country’s
Okinawa prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported. But Japan’s
meteorological agency later said no significant tidal changes were observed.
Semeru last erupted exactly one year ago, killing at
least 51 people and damaging more than 5,000 homes.
That disaster left entire streets filled with mud
and ash that swallowed houses and vehicles, forcing nearly 10,000 people to
seek refuge.
Semeru’s alert status had remained at its
second-highest level since a previous major eruption in December 2020.
Indonesia sits on
the
Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes
substantial volcanic and seismic activity.
The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly
130 active volcanoes.
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