Mount Semeru on alert

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