Mount Semeru Erupts With A Eruption As High As 500 Meters

Mount Semeru, which is located on the border of Lumajang and Malang Regencies, East Java, erupted with an eruption column height of about 500 meters above the peak or approximately 4,276 meters above sea level (masl) on Tuesday night.

"There was an eruption of Mount Semeru on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 18.16 WIB with an eruption as high as 500 meters above the peak," said Mount Semeru Observation Post Officer Mukdas Sofian as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, November 19.

He said the ash column was observed to be white to gray with thick intensity to the southwest. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of 105 seconds.

Based on officers' records, the highest mountain on the island of Java erupted several times on Tuesday, namely the first occurred at 00.09 WIB and the eruption visual was not observed, but the eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 21 mm and a duration of 128 seconds.

Then the second eruption occurred at 02.27 WIB with an eruption height observed about 800 meters above the peak, the eruption occurred again at 08.17 WIB with an eruption height observed about 600 meters above the peak.

The mountain, which has an altitude of 3,676 meters above sea level, erupted again at 08.24 WIB with an eruption height of about 400 meters above the peak and at 16.17 WIB with an eruption height observed about 600 meters above the peak.

Mukdas said Mount Semeru is still on alert status, so the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) provides a number of recommendations, namely that people are prohibited from carrying out any activity in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan as far as eight kilometers from the summit (the center of the eruption).

Beyond that distance, people are not allowed to carry out activities at a distance of 500 meters from the riverbank (river border) along Besuk Kobokan because it has the potential to be affected by the expansion of hot clouds and lava flows up to a distance of 13 kilometers from the summit.

"People are also not allowed to move within a three-kilometer radius of the crater/peak of Mount Semeru, because they are prone to the danger of throwing stones (lights)," he said.

In addition, the public also needs to be aware of the potential for hot clouds, lava avalanches, and rain lava along rivers/valleys that originate at the top of Mount Semeru, especially along Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat, as well as the potential for lava in small rivers that are tributaries from Besuk Kobokan.