Mount Semeru Eruption in Indonesia Triggers Emergency Relocations

The nation's Mount Semeru, the highest peak on Java island, has exploded, covering several villages with volcanic ash, prompting evacuations and leading authorities to raise the warning to the highest level.

The mountain in the province of East Java released blistering plumes of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that moved up to 7km down its slopes several times from noon to dusk, while a dense plume of hot clouds rose 1.2 miles into the air, as stated by the nation's geological authority.

The outbursts that occurred throughout the day forced officials to increase the volcano’s alert level twice, from the level three to the highest, the agency said. No deaths or injuries have been announced.

More than 300 inhabitants in the three communities most endangered in the district of Lumajang were relocated to official safe havens, as mentioned by a representative for the national emergency management body.

He said that increased activity of the mountain on Wednesday afternoon prompted officials to expand the danger zone to 5 miles from the crater. People were urged to keep away from an zone along the Kobokan River, which is the path of the lava flow, as searing gas flowed down the volcano's sides.

Footage on online platforms showed a dense cloud of volcanic dust sweeping through a forested valley to a river beneath a bridge. Locals, some with faces covered with volcanic dust and rain, fled to temporary shelters or departed for alternative secure locations.

Local media indicated that authorities were facing challenges to save about 178 people stranded on the 3,676-metre mountain at the Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post. The party comprised 137 climbers, 15 porters, seven guides and six travel representatives, according to an spokesperson with the protected area.

“They remain secure at the Ranu Kumbolo station,” an official said in a recorded message. He said the post was situated 2.8 miles from the crater on the northern slope of the mountain, which is not in the path of the fiery cloud movement that was seen traveling to the southeast direction. Inclement conditions and precipitation required the group to spend the night there, he added.

Semeru, also called Mahameru, has erupted many occasions in the last two centuries. Still, as is the situation with many of the 129 active volcanoes in the archipelago, tens of thousands of residents still to live on its productive highlands.

Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2021, when 51 people were lost their lives and hundreds others were burned and villages were buried in layers of mud. The eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents from their houses.

The country, an archipelago of more than 280 million people, is located along the Pacific “ring of fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to seismic events and volcanic activity.