Clouds of volcanic ash shot out of the 3,676-meter Mount Semeru on Tuesday and blanketed six villages in Lumajang district, East Java province.
“Today, volcanic ash blanketed six villages in two sub-districts, namely Candipuro and Pasrujambe," Wawan Hadi Siswoyo, spokesperson for the Lumajang Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), said here on Tuesday.
"The six villages affected by the volcanic ash of Mount Semeru are Addrejo, Tumpeng, Kelapa Sawit, Penanggal, and Sumbermujur in Candipuro sub-district, while the other is Pasrujambe in Pasrujambe sub-district," he informed.
Mount Semeru spewed hot clouds of ash with a sliding distance of about 2 kilometers from the lava dome, producing a blackish-white smoke that rose high towards the north at 6:36 a.m. local time, he said.
Ash rain with light to moderate intensity covered the six villages for two hours, he added.
"We have prepared thousands of masks to anticipate Mount Semeru's volcanic ash rain so that they can be distributed at any time when volcanic ash rain occurs," he said.
The status of Mount Semeru, the highest mountain on the island of Java, has been set at level II, or on alert, and people are being encouraged to comply with the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) recommendations.
At present, activity has been reported in two volcanoes in Indonesia — Mount Semeru in East Java and Mount Merapi, which is located between Central Java and Yogyakarta.
Mount Merapi is the most active among the around 130 active volcanoes in the country. (INE)
Editor : Didik Kusbiantoro
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