Indonesia’s Mount Semeru in East Java province erupted several times on Monday morning, with ash reaching up to 1,100 meters above its summit. The ash columns, varying from white to grey, moved southward with moderate intensity, as reported by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
By press time, the volcano had experienced at least seven eruptions since midnight, starting at 00:38 a.m. local time. The most recent eruption occurred at 9:29 a.m., with the peak activity observed at 6:51 a.m. when the ash plume reached its maximum height of 1,100 meters.
Authorities have issued warnings for the public to stay outside a 5-km radius of the summit. Additionally, an exclusion zone extends 13 km along the Besuk Kobokan river in the southeastern sector, with concerns raised about lahars and pyroclastic flows potentially reaching up to 17 km from the peak.
Earlier in March, Mount Semeru had erupted, sending an ash column approximately 1,000 meters above its summit, according to the country’s volcanology agency. The eruption also generated a hot avalanche cloud that traveled about three kilometers southeast along the Besuk Kobokan river channel.
Monitoring officials noted that the thick grey ash drifted northeast and east, with the eruption lasting nearly five minutes and reaching a maximum seismic amplitude of 12 mm.
In February, Mount Semeru erupted five times, propelling volcanic ash up to 1,000 meters above its summit. Liswanto, an officer at the Semeru Volcano Monitoring Post, reported that the first eruption occurred at 00:28 a.m. local time on February 11, with the strongest eruption happening at 05:36 a.m. the same day, sending an ash column 1,000 meters high. The fifth eruption occurred at 08:06 a.m., accompanied by significant seismic activity.
Mount Semeru is currently at Level III alert, the second-highest level in Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic warning system. The public has been advised to avoid activities within 13 kilometers of the summit and within a 5-kilometer radius of the crater due to potential hazards like hot clouds and volcanic materials. Residents near the volcano are urged to remain vigilant and follow instructions from local authorities.
Standing at 3,676 meters above sea level, Semeru is the tallest volcano on Java Island and one of the most active in Indonesia, a country with nearly 130 active volcanoes.
