Mount Mahameru Outburst in Indonesia Prompts Evacuations
Indonesia's Mount Semeru, the highest peak on the island of Java, has exploded, covering several villages with falling ash, leading to evacuations and causing officials to elevate the alert to the highest level.
The volcano in East Java province released blistering plumes of hot ash and a combination of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 4 miles down its slopes several times from midday to dusk, while a thick column of fiery clouds rose 2km into the air, as stated by Indonesia’s Geology Agency.
The outbursts that occurred throughout the day compelled authorities to increase the volcano’s alert level twice, from the level three to the top level, the agency reported. No casualties have been announced.
More than 300 residents in the three communities most endangered in the area of Lumajang region were relocated to government shelters, as mentioned by a spokesperson for the national disaster mitigation agency.
He said that increased activity of the volcano on the afternoon of Wednesday prompted officials to expand the danger zone to 8km from the summit. People were advised to stay clear from an zone along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is the route of the lava flow, as scorching gases moved down Semeru’s slopes.
Videos on social media showed a thick plume of ash sweeping through a wooded ravine to a river beneath a bridge. Residents, some with faces covered with volcanic dust and rain, escaped to temporary shelters or departed for other safe areas.
Local media indicated that emergency teams were facing challenges to rescue about 178 people stranded on the 3,676-metre mountain at the Ranu Kumbolo observation station. The party comprised 137 climbers, 15 carriers, seven guides and six travel representatives, according to an spokesperson with the protected area.
“They remain secure at the Ranu Kumbolo station,” an official stated in a recorded message. He said the station was located 2.8 miles from the summit on the north side of the volcano, which is outside the trajectory of the hot cloud flow that was observed traveling to the south-southeast. Bad weather and rain forced the group to spend the night there, he explained.
The volcano, also known as Mahameru, has burst many occasions in the last two centuries. However, as is the case with numerous of the 129 live volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people still to reside on its fertile slopes.
Semeru’s previous significant explosion was in late 2021, when 51 people were lost their lives and several hundred more were burned and settlements were buried in thick mud. The event led to the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from their homes.
The country, an archipelago of over 280 million inhabitants, is located along the Pacific “ring of fire”, a curved series of fault lines, and is susceptible to seismic events and volcanic activity.
