Indonesia: Nearly 2,000 people evacuated due to Semero volcano activity

Nearly 2,000 people were evacuated from areas of Indonesia near the Semeru volcano, which entered a new phase of explosive activity.

There is currently no information on losses from the eruption of the Semeros volcano and its Ministry of Transport Indonesia said air travel had not been affected, but warnings had been sent to two regional airports to be on alert.

“Most roads have been closed since this morning and now volcanic ash is falling and has covered the view of the mountain”Bayou community volunteer Denny Alfiando told Reuters by phone from a spot near the volcano.

The volcano on Mount Semeru, the highest mountain in Java, erupted last year, killing at least 50 people and displacing thousands.

Indonesia’s disaster management agency (BNPB) said 1,979 people had been moved to 11 shelters and authorities distributed masks to residents. Volcanic activity began at 02:46 (local time, yesterday Saturday at 21:46 Greek time) and rescue, search and evacuation efforts are ongoing.

The plume of volcanic ash reached a height of 15 kilometers, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, which had initially been on alert for the possibility that the volcano’s eruption could trigger a tsunami. He later ruled out this possibility.

The eruption of the volcano, which is 640 kilometers east of the capital Jakarta, follows a series of earthquakes in West Java, including one last month that killed more than 300 people.

Indonesia’s National Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Prevention (PVMBG) raised the alert level to maximum and urged residents not to come within 8 kilometers of Semeru’s crater.

Volcanic ash clouds are reaching up to 19 kilometers away from the crater, it said.

The center’s head, Hendra Ganavan, said a larger volume of magma could have formed compared to the volcano’s previous eruptions in 2021 and 2020, which could mean a higher risk for a wider area.

“Semerus clouds may reach farther and to a distance where there are many residences,” he said.

In video sent to Reuters by police in the area, villagers can be seen walking away from the volcano’s slopes, some with their belongings loaded onto bicycles. A destroyed bridge is covered in volcanic ash.

With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the world’s largest population living within a radius of a volcano, with 8.6 million people living within 10 kilometers of a volcano.

The deadly earthquake that struck West Java in late November was a magnitude 5.6 but shallow. A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck at a deeper depth on Saturday, sending people out of buildings but causing no serious damage or casualties.

Source: News Beast

You may also like