Mount Semeru on the island of Java in Indonesia erupted on Sunday, a year after the fatal crash, and authorities raised the highest alert.
The Center for Volcanology and Prevention of Geological Disasters (PVMBG) has raised the danger level around Mount Semeru from level three to the highest level four, spokesman Hendra Gunavan told Kompas TV.
“This means that the settlements are in danger and the activity of the volcano has increased,” he explained.
Located in the east of the island of Java, whose highest point is 3676 meters, Mount Semeru on Sunday threw out a cloud of ash about 1.5 km high.
No casualties were reported immediately after the eruption, but Mr. Gunawan advised nearby residents to stay at least five miles away from the crater.
Authorities also asked people to avoid a 13-kilometer section along the river southeast of Mount Semeru, towards which the volcanic ash cloud was moving.
- Ash Mist -
Video shared with AFP by local rescue group Irannala Rescue shows a giant cloud rising from the crater and completely obscuring the sun and the surrounding villages covered in ash and dark fog.
The monsoon hit the area on Sunday afternoon, rainwater mixed with ash, according to TV channels.
Indonesia: Semeru Volcano (AFP - Jonathan WALTER)
“A lot of people started descending” from the side of the volcano, Lumajang district chief Torikul Haq told Kompas TV.
Residents of the two most threatened villages fled on their own, a spokesman for local emergency services added.
Shelters have been set up to house the displaced, and authorities have distributed masks to nearby residents to protect them from ash pollution.
According to an AFP journalist, after the eruption, the Internet was disconnected, and the mobile phone network was out of order.
For its part, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of a possible tsunami caused by the eruption of an Indonesian volcano around 14:30 (05:30 GMT) on the islands of Miyako and Yaeyama, in the extreme south of the Japanese archipelago, Kyodo news agency reported. However, no damage was reported an hour later.
Exactly one year ago, on December 4, 2021, the Semeru volcano had already erupted, killing at least 51 people. Landslides and ash engulfed villages and nearly 10,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Two days later there was another eruption.
Bridge amid smoke and ash from erupting Mount Semeru in Lumajang, December 4, 2022 (Geological Agency of Indonesia/AFP - Handout)
A bridge linking two districts in the region, which is being rebuilt after last year’s eruption, was again badly damaged on Sunday, according to PVMBG.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the confluence of continental plates is causing strong volcanic and seismic activity. The archipelago of Southeast Asia has about 130 active volcanoes.