Mount Semeru Erupts Twice on Thursday Morning, Visuals Unobserved

Lumajang, East Java (ANTARA) - Eruption-related tremors continue to dominate the volcanic activity of Mount Semeru, located on the border of Lumajang and Malang regencies in East Java, over recent days. During the seismic observation period on Thursday from 00.00 to 06.00 Western Indonesia Time, Mount Semeru recorded 19 eruption earthquakes with amplitudes of 13-22 mm, followed by 7 emission earthquakes with amplitudes of 3-6 mm. “Seismic activity also recorded one harmonic tremor with an amplitude of 7 mm and one distant tectonic earthquake with an amplitude of 18 mm,” said Mount Semeru Observation Post officer Liswanto in a written report received in Lumajang on Thursday. Eruption earthquakes also dominated the volcanic activity of Mount Semeru during the observation period on Wednesday (22/7) from 00.00 to 24.00 Western Indonesia Time, with 77 eruption earthquakes recorded with amplitudes of 10-22 mm, and dozens of eruption earthquakes are recorded daily. Mount Semeru, the highest mountain on Java Island, was observed to have erupted twice on Thursday, at 00.29 and 05.48 Western Indonesia Time, with the visual of the eruptions not observed. Liswanto explained that the volcanic activity of Mount Semeru is currently at Status Level III (Alert), with a recommendation that the public not conduct any activities in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan as far as 13 kilometres from the summit (eruption centre). “The public is prohibited from conducting activities within a five-kilometre radius of the crater/summit of Mount Semeru due to the danger of rock projectiles (incandescent),” he said. He urged the public to be aware of the potential for pyroclastic flows, lava avalanches, and lahars along the river/valley flows originating at the summit of Mount Semeru. “Especially 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,” he said.