Semeru volcano erupts as earthquakes rattle West Java
A volcano erupted in Indonesia yesterday spewing a cloud of ash 15km into the sky and forcing the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people, authorities said, as they issued their highest warning for the area in the east of Java island.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties from the eruption of the Semeru volcano and Indonesia’s transport ministry said there was no impact on air travel but notices had been sent to two regional airports for vigilance.
The disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said 1,979 people had been moved to 11 shelters and authorities had distributed masks to residents.
Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, PVMBG, raised the level of volcanic activity to four from three, its chief said in a text message.
The eruption on the eastern part of Java, some 640km east of the capital, Jakarta, follows a series of earthquakes on the west of the island, including one last month that killed more than 300 people.
“Most of the road accesses have been closed since this morning. Now its raining volcanic ash and it has covered the view of the mountain,” Bayu Deny Alfianto, a local volunteer said.
Small eruptions were continuing and it was raining in the area, he said.
With the raised alert level, authorities warned residents not to conduct any activities within 8km of Semeru’s eruption centre, adding that hot ash clouds had reached as far as 19km from the centre of eruption.
PVMBG chief Hendra Gunawan said the agency saw the potential for a bigger supply of magma this year compared with previous eruptions in 2021 and 2020.
“Therefore Semeru’s hot clouds could reach further [this year] and at that distance there are many residences,” he said.
The volcano began erupting at 2.46am local time, BNPB said in a statement.
Videos posted on social media showed grey ash clouds in nearby areas.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said there was no tsunami impact from the eruption.
With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the largest population globally living in close range to a volcano, including 8.6 million within 10km.
The deadly late-November quake that hit West Java’s Cianjur was a shallow tremor of 5.6 magnitude. A much deeper quake on Saturday in Gurat of 6.1 magnitude sent people running from buildings but did not cause major damage.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.7 quake was centred about 18km southeast of Banjar, a city between West Java and Central Java provinces, at a depth of 112km.
One resident was injured in Selaawi village of West Java’s Garut district, and at least four houses and a school were damaged, said Suharyanto, the National Disaster Management Agency head.
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake on November 21 killed at least 331 people and injured nearly 600 in West Java’s Cianjur city.