Mount Semeru in East Java erupts five times
LUMAJANG, 18 May (BelTA — ANTARA) — Mount Semeru in East Java erupted
five times on Friday, with the volcano spewing ash as high as 900 meters
above its peak.
Mount Semeru Observation Post Officer Liswanto
said in a written statement on Friday that the ash column looked white
to gray in color and was moving with moderate intensity toward the
southwest.
The volcano is still on alert (Level III). The
Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has appealed
to residents to refrain from carrying out activities in the
southeastern part of the volcano along the Besuk Kobokan River up to a
distance of 13 kilometers from its peak.
They have also been asked not to carry out activities within a 500-meter radius of the river bank along Besuk Kobokan.
Residents
have also been prohibited from carrying out activities within a
5-kilometer radius of the crater or peak of Mount Semeru because of the
risk of injury from stones ejected by the volcano.
They have been
asked to remain vigilant against the potential for hot clouds and lava
avalanches along river flows or valleys from the peak of Mount Semeru,
especially along Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat.
Further,
they have been asked to be aware of the potential for lava in small
rivers that are tributaries of the Besuk Kobokan river.
