Mount Mahameru Eruption in Indonesia Prompts Evacuations
The nation's Semeru volcano, the highest peak on Java island, has erupted, blanketing multiple communities 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 blistering plumes of hot ash and a mixture of stone, molten rock, and gases that moved up to 7km down its sides several times from midday to evening, while a thick column of hot clouds rose 1.2 miles into the sky, according to Indonesia’s Geology Agency.
The eruptions that unfolded throughout the day compelled officials to increase the volcano’s alert level twice, from the level three to the highest, the authority said. No casualties have been announced.
More than 300 residents in the three villages most endangered in the area of Lumajang region were relocated to official safe havens, according to a spokesperson for the national emergency management body.
He stated that increased activity of the mountain on the afternoon of Wednesday prompted authorities to widen the hazard area to 5 miles from the summit. People were urged to keep away from an zone along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is the route of the lava flow, as scorching gases flowed down the volcano's sides.
Videos on social media displayed a dense cloud of ash sweeping through a forested valley to a river beneath a bridge. Residents, some with faces smeared with ash and rain, escaped to makeshift refuges or departed for alternative secure locations.
Regional news outlets indicated that authorities were struggling to rescue about 178 people stranded on the 3,676-metre peak at the Ranu Kumbolo observation station. The party included 137 climbers, 15 carriers, seven escorts and six travel representatives, according to an official with the protected area.
“They are currently safe at the Ranu Kumbolo station,” a spokesperson said in a video statement. He said the station was located 2.8 miles from the crater on the north side of the mountain, which is outside the trajectory of the fiery cloud movement that was observed moving to the south-southeast. Inclement conditions and rain forced the team to spend the night there, he added.
The volcano, also called Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the last two centuries. However, as is the case with many of the 129 live volcanoes in Indonesia, thousands of residents still to reside on its fertile slopes.
The mountain's last major eruption was in late 2021, when 51 individuals 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 residents from their homes.
Indonesia, an island chain of more than 280 million people, is located along the Pacific “ring of fire”, a curved series of fault lines, and is prone to seismic events and volcanic activity.
