Residents warned to stay away from Mount Semeru: minister

Lumajang (ANTARA) - Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Arifin Tasrif has asked residents living around the slopes of Mount Semeru not to carry out activities in the hazard-prone zone identified by his ministry's Geological Agency.

"Regarding the increase in the status of Mount Semeru, there were indications of rising seismic and visual observations in the field," Tasrif said while reviewing the situation at Mount Semeru in Lumajang District, East Java Province, on Friday.

Residents must remain alert and avoid disaster-prone areas that have been mapped out, he added.

"Debris from the volcano's pyroclastic flow has clogged the river stream and the affected areas might get wider if another eruption occurs. That is why the status is set to be raised to Level III," Tasrif explained.

After Mount Semeru's eruption on December 4, 2021, about 8 million cubic meters of sand fell and blocked the flow of the Besuk Kobokan River, he noted.

Regarding the early warning system (EWS), the minister said that the EWS has been activated according to the mechanism followed at every volcano monitoring point.

"If there are indications or increases in volcanic activity, it will always be monitored, and the results will always be communicated to the public through communication channels, namely WhatsApp groups consisting of Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), sub-district head, the village head, local community leaders, and volunteers," he informed.

Earlier, at 11 p.m. local time on December 16, the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources had raised the status of Mount Semeru from Level II to Level III.

It advised the public against carrying out activities in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan as far as 13 kilometers from the summit.

Beyond this distance, the community must not carry out activities within 500 meters of the riverbank along Besuk Kobokan because of the potential for expansion of hot clouds and lava flows that could reach 17 kilometers from the peak, it said.

People must also not enter or move within a 5-kilometer radius of the crater of Mount Semeru since there is a danger of stones rolling down from the mountain, it added.