Indonesian authorities raised the alert for Mount Semeru volcano after a series of eruptions.
The volcano lies on the country’s most densely populated island. Indonesia’s Geology Agency said Mount Semeru in East Java province unleashed avalanches of searing clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 7 kilometers down its slopes several times.
The eruption throughout the day blanketed several villages with falling ash and forcing authorities to raise the volcano’s alert level twice, from the third-highest level to the highest. No casualties have been reported yet.
The eruption began at about 4pm (09:00 GMT), according to a written report from Mukdas Sofian, an officer at Indonesia’s volcanology monitoring post.
“Pyroclastic flows are still occurring, with the runout distance reaching seven kilometres [4.3 miles] from the summit, and the eruption was ongoing at the time this report was prepared,” Sofian said.
Mount Semeru, located in a densely populated region of Java, is Indonesia’s highest peak at 3,676 metres (12,060 feet) and sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a seismically active arc where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are common.
Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the past 200 years, including a deadly episode in 2021 that killed 62 people and buried villages in hot ash.
Indonesia is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes – more than any other country, and Semeru’s frequent activity is closely monitored because of the risks it poses to nearby communities, transport routes and aviation.