Mount Semeru erupts

Mount Semeru erupts

SURABAYA: Residents living around Mt. Semeru in Lumajang, East
Java have been put on alert due to small eruptions of the
volcano, Antara reported yesterday.

A new dome of ash formed at the volcano's peak and while the
temperature outside the volcano was low, inside it reached 5,000
degrees Celsius, head of the Mt. Kelud-Mt. Semeru project office,
Diro Supangkat, said in Kediri yesterday.

"People are urged to be on alert in case of eruptions," he
said, adding that the warning came from the volcanology office.

Supangkat said ash ejected from the volcano has in recent
weeks covered houses and farms in Supit Urang, Pronojiwo,
Candipuro, Senduro, and Lumajang, as well as in South Malang.

Officials of the Mt. Kelud-Mt. Semeru project are also trying
to build canals, financed by soft loans from Japan's Overseas
Economic Cooperation Fund, to direct the flow of lava away from
residential areas, he said.

Mt. Semeru, 3,676 meters high, erupted in 1885, 1909, 1911 and
1946, killing hundreds of people. (swe)