Mount Mahameru Outburst in the Southeast Asian nation Prompts Evacuations
Indonesia's Semeru volcano, 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 maximum level.
The mountain in the province of East Java released searing clouds of hot ash and a combination of stone, molten rock, and gases that moved up to 7km down its sides several times from noon to evening, while a thick column of hot clouds rose 1.2 miles into the sky, as stated by Indonesia’s Geology Agency.
The eruptions that unfolded throughout the day compelled authorities to raise the volcano’s alert level on two occasions, from the level three to the top level, the agency said. No casualties have been reported.
More than 300 inhabitants in the three villages most endangered in the district of Lumajang were evacuated to official safe havens, as mentioned by a spokesperson for the national disaster mitigation agency.
He stated that heightened volcanic movements of the mountain on the afternoon of Wednesday led authorities to expand the hazard area to 5 miles from the summit. Residents were urged to stay clear from an area along the Kobokan River, which is the path of the lava flow, as scorching gases flowed down the volcano's sides.
Footage on social media showed a thick plume of ash moving through a forested valley to a river beneath a overpass. Locals, some with faces covered with ash and water, fled to temporary shelters or left for alternative secure locations.
Local media reported that authorities were struggling to rescue about 178 individuals stranded on the 3,676-metre peak at the Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post. The party included 137 climbers, 15 porters, seven escorts and six tourism officials, according to an spokesperson with the protected area.
“They remain secure at Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post,” a spokesperson stated in a video statement. He said the post was situated 4.5km from the crater on the northern slope of the mountain, which is outside the trajectory of the fiery cloud movement that was observed traveling to the southeast direction. Bad weather and rain forced the group to spend the night there, he added.
The volcano, also known as Mahameru, has burst many occasions in the last two centuries. However, as is the situation with many 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 people were killed and hundreds others were injured and villages were submerged in thick mud. The event led to the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents from their houses.
Indonesia, an island chain of more than 280 million people, sits along the Pacific seismic belt, a curved series of tectonic boundaries, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
