The Mount Semeru Volcanoon the island of Java, Indonesia, burst like exactly one year ago and there is maximum alert: already about 2,000 people evacuated and fear for a tsunami.
The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) warned overnight that the volcano was still “in the process of erupting” and that “activity” was still “very high”.
A few hours earlier, the agency had relaunched “on level four” the Mount Semeru alarm and its spokesman, Hendra Gunawan, had told the television network Compas TV what the population was “endangered”.
Volcano, eruption and about 2,000 displaced people
According to the rescue services, 1,979 people from six cities They were evacuated and relocated 11 shelters.
Villagers bordering the mountain fled before a huge ash cloud.
Local authorities called the bamboo drum alarm and the sky darkened as if it were midnight, with monsoon rain mixed with ash, media reports.
Call for help “avalanche of fire”caused by blocks of lava that during the eruption detached from the summit and flowed towards the base of the volcano.
currently there is no victimbut the authorities have advised the inhabitants to maintain a minimum distance of eight kilometers from the crater of the volcano.
They also asked avoid an area of 13 kilometers long located near a river in the southeast of Mount Semeru, towards which a cloud of volcanic ash was directed.
Mount Semeru, in East Java, is the highest point of the island with 3.676 meters of height.
“It was dark and it was raining. The rain was not just water, it had volcanic ash on it. It was like mud,” an AFP reporter said in Lumajang, where the volcano is located.
“There were no noises or tremors, but hot clouds suddenly appeared,” he added.
Local relief group Irannala Rescue sent AFP videos showing a huge cloud rising above the crater to hide the sun. In other images, nearby cities are covered in ash.
The authorities have opened reception centers for the displaced and distributed masks to the inhabitants to protect them pollution and ash.
After the eruption, The internet was down and the telephone network was down.
A year ago there were 51 deaths
The last eruption of the volcano, exactly one year ago, caused at least 51 deaths.
mud and ash flows it has engulfed entire villages and nearly 10,000 people have had to flee their homes. Another eruption took place two days later.
A bridge linking two districts in the region, which had been under reconstruction since last year, was badly damaged on Sunday, according to the PVMBBG.
Indonesia is located in the Pacific ring of fire, where the collision of tectonic plates causes strong volcanic and seismic activity.
The Southeast Asian archipelago has nearly 130 active volcanoes.
With information from AFP
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.
