Mount Semeru on alert

MALANG, East Java: Mount Semeru in East Java has been put under alert status following heavy rainfall, which it is feared could cause landslides of igneous rock, an official says.

Coordinator of Bromo Tengger National Park's evaluation plan Bambang Rudianto said on Wednesday the status was raised following heavy rainfall over the last few days in the mountainous area, raising concerns that millions of cubic meters of rock that formed when lava cooled and solidified could be washed down the mountain's slopes by the rain.

This could endanger the some 200,000 people living in seven districts at the foot of the mountain, he said.

The igneous rock, he said, was from seven eruptions from 1818 until late 2003.--JP