AP
NOS News•
The Indonesian authorities have raised the alert level to the highest level after the eruption of the Semeru volcano on the Indonesian island of Java. The evacuation of the local population began. Several villages covered in ash. No more losses were recorded.
The level of volcanic activity has been raised to the fourth and highest level by the Indonesia Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, Reuters news agency reported.
A plume of smoke from the volcano, about 3,700 meters high, has reached a height of 15 kilometers today. Lava also flows along the slopes of Semeru. According to a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority in Jakarta, monsoon rains caused the lava dome to collapse, leading to the eruption.
Videos on social media show ash gray clouds near the volcano:
The Associated Press reported that local residents were advised to stay 5 kilometers from the crater and stay away from the southeastern sector area along the Pisok Kobukan River, about 13 kilometers from the crater.
Several hundred people have been moved to temporary shelters or relocated to other safe areas. These are mainly women, children and the elderly, the head of the relief service in Lumagang, East Java, told the news agency.
The volcano is located in the eastern part of Java, about 640 kilometers east of the capital, Jakarta. The eruption followed a series of earthquakes in the west of the island, including last month’s quake. At least 300 people were killed in that earthquake.
People stopped near the volcano along the way today:
Volcanic eruption in Java causes plumes of smoke to be kilometers high
“Most access roads have been closed since this morning. Now it is raining volcanic ash, which limits the view of the mountain,” a local volunteer told Reuters by phone. He said that there are small volcanic eruptions.
Last year there was also an eruption of Semeru volcano, where sure Fourteen dead Drops. Dozens were injured. With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the world’s largest population living near a volcano: 8.6 million people live within 10 kilometers of the volcano.
The archipelago of Indonesia itself lies along the so-called “Ring of Fire,” a series of horseshoe-shaped fault lines, making the country vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic activity.