Mount Semeru erupts, sending ash column 1.2 km high accompanied by moderate rumbling

Lumajang, East Java (ANTARA) - Mount Semeru, located on the border of Lumajante and Malang Regencies, East Java, erupted again with an explosion height reaching 1.2 kilometres above the summit, accompanied by moderate explosions on Monday afternoon.

“An eruption of Mount Semeru occurred at 16:39 WIB, with the observed eruption column height reaching approximately 1.2 km above the summit, or 4,876 metres above sea level (masl),” stated Sigit Rian Alfian, an officer at the Mount Semeru Observation Post, in a written report in Lumajang on Monday.

According to him, the ash column was observed to be white to grey in colour with thick intensity, drifting towards the northeast and east. The eruption was recorded on the seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of approximately 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

According to official records, the mountain, which has an elevation of 3,676 masl, experienced nine eruptions on Monday between 00:04 WIB and 19:23 WIB, with eruption heights ranging from 500 metres to 1,200 metres above the summit.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Lumajang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), Isnugroho, stated that his office has received information from the PVMBG regarding the Mount Semeru eruption accompanied by moderate explosions.

“So far, there has been no direct impact on the community, but BPBD officers are always on alert at the Curahkobokan and Oro-oro Ombo posts to continuously monitor the development of Mount Semeru’s activity,” he said.

Currently, Mount Semeru’s volcanic activity is at Level III (Alert) status, with a recommendation for the public to avoid all activities in the southeastern sector along Besuk Kobokan, up to 13 kilometres from the summit (the centre of the eruption).

Outside of that distance, he added, the public should avoid activities within 500 metres of the riverbanks along Besuk Kobokan, due to the potential for expanding pyroclastic clouds and lava flows up to 17 kilometres from the summit.

“The public is prohibited from conducting activities within a five-kilometre radius of the crater/summit of Mount Semeru, as it is prone to the danger of volcanic rock fragments (ejecta),” he said.

He also urged the public to remain vigilant regarding the potential for pyroclastic clouds, lava flows, and lahars along the rivers and valleys originating from the summit of Mount Semeru.

“Particularly along Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat, as well as the potential for lahars in small rivers that are tributaries of Besuk Kobokan,” said Isnugroho.