Mount Semeru Eruption in Indonesia Prompts Evacuations

The nation's Mount Semeru, the highest peak on Java island, has erupted, blanketing several villages with falling ash, leading to evacuations and leading authorities to raise the alert to the maximum level.

The volcano in the province of East Java unleashed searing clouds of fiery ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 7km down its slopes several times from midday to dusk, while a dense plume of hot clouds rose 2km into the air, as stated by Indonesia’s Geology Agency.

The eruptions that occurred throughout the day forced authorities to raise the mountain's warning status twice, from the third-highest level to the highest, the agency reported. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

More than 300 residents in the three villages most endangered in the area of Lumajang were relocated to government shelters, according to a representative for the national emergency management body.

He said that heightened volcanic movements of the volcano on the afternoon of Wednesday prompted authorities to expand the hazard area to 8km from the crater. People were advised to keep away from an zone along the Kobokan River, which is the route of the molten rock stream, as scorching gases moved down Semeru’s slopes.

Videos on online platforms displayed a dense cloud of volcanic dust moving through a wooded ravine to a waterway beneath a bridge. Locals, some with faces covered with volcanic dust and water, fled to temporary shelters or departed for other safe areas.

Regional news outlets reported that authorities were struggling to save about 178 people trapped on the 3,676-metre peak at the Ranu Kumbolo observation station. The party comprised 137 climbers, 15 carriers, seven guides and six tourism officials, according to an official with the protected area.

“They remain secure at Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post,” an official said in a recorded message. He said the station was located 2.8 miles from the crater on the northern slope of the volcano, which is not in the path of the fiery cloud movement that was seen moving to the south-southeast. Bad weather and rain forced the team to spend the night there, he added.

The volcano, also known as Mahameru, has erupted many occasions in the past 200 years. However, as is the case with many of the 129 live volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to reside on its fertile slopes.

The mountain's last major eruption was in late 2021, when 51 people were lost their lives and hundreds more were injured and villages were submerged in layers of mud. The event forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from their homes.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 280 million people, sits along the Pacific seismic belt, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to seismic events and volcanism.