Earthquake Eruptions Still Occur At Mount Semeru

Mount Semeru (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Head of the Geological Agency's PVMBG Volcano Mitigation Division of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hendra Gunawan, said earthquake eruptions were still occurring on Mount Semeru.

Based on reports from the monitoring post of Mount Semeru on Mount Sawur, which was received by PVMBG during the observation period on Sunday at 00.00 - 06.00 WIB, it said that there were three eruptions or rumbling sounds.

"For the seismic activity of Mount Semeru, eight earthquakes were recorded with an amplitude of 11-21 mm," he said when contacted from Lumajang Regency, East Java, as reported by Antara, Sunday, January 17.

For earthquake avalanches were once with an amplitude of 3 mm, while gusts were three times, and earthquakes were harmonic tremors three times.

According to him, visually, Mount Semeru is dominantly covered in fog and unobserved crater smoke.

Meanwhile, during the observation period on Sunday at 06.00 - 12.00 WIB, one earthquake eruption was recorded with an amplitude of 15 mm.

Seven earthquake gusts with an amplitude of 3-6 mm and two harmonic tremors.

"Visually, the eruption, gusts and smoke were not observed because the mountain was covered in fog," he said.

Hendra said that the status of Mount Semeru is at level II or alert, so that people are encouraged to comply with the PVMBG recommendations.

"People are prohibited from doing activities within a radius of 1 kilometer from the crater / peak of Mount Semeru and a distance of 4 kilometers from the crater opening in the south-southeast sector," he said.

The community is also asked to be aware of hot clouds of avalanches, avalanches of lava, and lava along rivers / valleys that originate at the top of Mount Semeru.

"The recommended radius and distance will be continuously evaluated to anticipate any changes in danger," he said.

He appealed to people to stay away or not to do activities in areas affected by hot cloud material because the temperature is still high.

"What also needs to be watched out for is the potential for glides along the valley of the hot cloud lane of Besuk Kobokan," he said.

The community is also urged to be aware of the threat of lava in the river / valley channels that head up at Mount Semeru because of the large amount of volcanic material that has been formed.