Mount Bromo Preeruption Activities Increase, Probolinggo Residents Asked To Be Alert

Visual craters that emit smoke from Mount Bromo in East Java, (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) recorded an increase in the rate of deformation on Mount Bromo in East Java, which indicates that magma in the body of the volcano is getting closer to the surface. Head of PVMBG Hendra Gunawan said his party carried out deformation measurements using a tiltmeter. (leading to the crater), "Hendra said, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, October 23. The smoke from the crater was thin to thick white with a height reaching a maximum of 700 meters above the peak of Mount Bromo. The roar from inside the crater was moderately heard. Visual observation on the evening of October 21, 2023 shows that there are still beams of fire from several locations at the bottom of the crater that have been observed since February 3, 2023. He explained, the color of the gust of gas from the direction of the crater shows that currently activity dominated by gas release, no ash material is carried to the surface. Gas measurements on the crater lip with a gas detector on October 22, 2023 showed a maximum concentration of sulfur dioxide gas of 4.3 parts per million (ppm) and hydrogen sulfide gas of a maximum of 1.7 ppm.The smell of sulfur gas is moderate to strong on the crater lip. The concentration value of sulfur dioxide gas is relatively high and above a human tolerable threshold value, which is 2 ppm. Mount Bromo seismicity is still high. dominated by earthquakes of continuous tremors with a maximum amplitude of 1 millimeter which shows a supply of fluid (gas, liquid, rock solid) to shallower depths or associated with gas emission activity to the surface. Observations with satellites show the presence of hot anomalies and an increase in the temperature radiation of the Bromo crater since May 2023. The potential hazard that could be caused by the increasing activity of the Bromo crater is the occurrence of phreatic or magmatic eruptions producing The eruptive material is in the form of ash and stone avalanches (pijars) whose distribution can reach a radius of 1 kilometer from the crater center, as well as the potential hazards of volcanic gases that can have a negative impact on health. Bromo clouds are cinder cone volcano located in the Tengger caldera with a height of 2,329 meters above sea level. The volcano is administratively included in the areas of Probolinggo Regency, Malang Regency, Pasuruan Regency, and Lumajang Regency, East Java Province The eruption character of Mount Bromo is in the form of explosive and effusive eruptions from the central crater. The eruption ejects ash, sand, lapilli, and sometimes ejects volcanic lava and bombs. In July 2019, the last eruption occurred in the form of explosive eruptions that were without preceding a significant increase in seismicity. Mount Bromo crater activity was monitored visually and instrumentally from the Bromo Volcano Observation Post (PGA) located in Cemoro Lawang Hamlet, Ngadisari Village, Sukapura District, Probolinggo Regency, East Java Province.

The current level of activity of Mount Bromo is Level II or Alert. "The community around Mount Bromo and visitors should not enter the crater area within a radius of 1 kilometer from the active crater to avoid sudden phreatic eruptions and without being preceded by clear volcanic symptoms, as well as to avoid the danger of volcanic gases," concluded Hendra.