Bandung, West Java (ANTARA) - The Geological Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has raised the activity status of Mount Semeru in East Java to Level IV (Warning), effective Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
Head of the Geological Agency, Muhammad Wafid, in a statement on Wednesday, noted that the status was raised from Level III (Standby) to Level IV after monitoring showed that the volcanic activity was still high and unstable.
The agency recommends that residents, hikers, and tourists refrain from all activities within an eight-kilometer radius of the volcano's crater and within the west to the northeast sectoral area 20 kilometers from the eruption center.
In addition, residents are asked to remain vigilant regarding the potential for lahar floods during heavy rains, particularly in the southeast sector along the Besuk Kobokan river, up to a distance of 8 kilometers from the summit.
People have also been advised not to carry out any activities within 500 meters of the riverbank along Besuk Kobokan due to the potential for expansion of pyroclastic and lahar flows, which can spread to a distance of up to 13 km from the summit.
He also advised residents affected by the volcanic ash dispersion to wear masks or coverings for the nose and mouth to prevent respiratory tract disorders.
Mount Semeru, Java’s highest volcano at 3,676 meters above sea level, erupted on Wednesday, spewing a pyroclastic flow that traveled 7 kilometers from the summit.
The eruption occurred at 4:00 p.m. local time, with an ash column rising 2,000 meters above the summit.
"The ash column was observed to be gray with thick intensity, heading north and northwest," Mount Semeru observation post officer Mukdas Sofian confirmed in a written report.
