Rivers of lava erupt from Indonesian volcano
Indonesia’s highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava in its latest eruption yesterday.
Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3676m Mt Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari.
Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported. Several hundred residents, their faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, fled to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.
Thick columns of ash were blasted more than 1500m into the sky while searing gas and lava flowed down Semeru’s slopes toward a nearby river.
Increased activities of the volcano prompted authorities to widen the
danger zone to 8km from the crater, said Hendra Gunawan, who heads the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre.
He said scientists raised the volcano’s alert level to the highest and people were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk
Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.
Semeru’s last major eruption was in December last year, when it blew up with fury that left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Several hundred others suffered serious burns and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.
The government moved about 2970 houses out of the danger zone.
Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the past 200 years. Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of continue to live on its fertile slopes.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoeshaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. —AP