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)