Mount Semeru Eruption With A High Eruption Of 900 Meters Above The Peak

Mount Semeru erupted with an eruption height of 900 meters above the peak on Sunday (16/3/2025) night. (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG)

Mount Semeru, which is on the border of Lumajang and Malang regencies, East Java, erupted with an eruption height of 900 meters above the peak on Sunday night.

"There was an eruption of Mount Semeru at 19.38 WIB. The height of the eruption column was observed to be about 900 meters above the peak or 4,576 meters above sea level," said Mount Semeru Observation Post Officer Sigit Rian Alfian in a written report received in Lumajang quoted from Antara.

The ash column was observed to be gray with thick intensity to the south and southwest. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of 137 seconds.

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) provides a number of recommendations related to the alert status of Mount Semeru, namely that people are prohibited from carrying out any activities 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 radius of three kilometers from the crater/peak of Mount Semeru, because they are prone to the dangers of throwing incandescent stones," he said.

He said 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.

Previously, Lumajang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Pusdalops Officer Nur Cahyo appealed to the public to remain calm and follow official information from PVMBG regarding the activities of Mount Semeru, and not to easily believe in news that has not received correct verification.